Heart Station
by amourdesoi
Summary: Apparently, ambushing debt collectors is a bad idea. Kind of. Sort of. ...Probably. Shizuo x OC.
1. one

A/N: Yeah, I know, I have a different Shizuo x OC story that isn't even nearly done… but to be honest, I'm getting a little bored with it right now, (I'm pretty sure I have ADD when it comes to writing stories) and then this idea popped up in my head and wouldn't let go til I wrote it. And thus, you have this. I hope everyone enjoys.

* * *

**chapter one ; we have a reason to be in the car ...**

Tsukamoto Nana heaved a sigh as she left the convenience store; the merrily jingling bells on the door that signaled her exit failed to match her mood at all. With a sullen pout etched into her face, she began walking home, trying to wrap her worn coat around her in a fruitless effort to get more warmth. Her stomach began grumbling at the thought of the instant ramen in the plastic bag that dangled from her hand – it would be the only food she'd eaten today so far, and she was beginning to get one of those annoying hunger headaches. Unfortunately, after counting bills and other expenses, this was what she'd had enough money for.

_Three stinkin' cups of instant ramen… _Two of which would be eaten by her father, no doubt. And that was assuming that he was actually _home_ for once. Usually, her father could be found at a bar, drinking away his sorrows or making bets that he'd never win. Her pout deepened into something akin to a scowl as the wind blew harder, making her feel like her bones were as brittle as a hundred year old woman's._ Maybe if Tou-san didn't spend all his money on booze and horses, I'd be able to buy a new coat… yeah, a nice warm one! With fur, and a hood… _She was so caught up in her fantasies of new clothes that she'd never buy that she didn't see her father until she heard him.

"P-Please, Tanaka-san! Just give me some more time, I promise I'll have those debts repaid as soon as I can!"

… _Debts? Lord, please let it _not _be my father. _Apparently, whatever higher power that existed was frowning on her, because she spotted her skinny, balding father a short distance away, kneeling at the feet of two men – one with dreads, the other with blond hair. Her father was facing her, but didn't even see her as the blond man stomped his cigarette on the ground and gripped her father up by his collar, yelling something about 'annoying bastards.'

Now, Nana often times thought her father was a good-for-nothing, gambling alcoholic – he was someone who'd rather go to a bar and spend all his money getting absolutely trashed beyond repair than buy his daughter a new coat in the face of the harsh, upcoming season. It wasn't that she couldn't buy herself one. In fact, she tried her best not to rely on other people's pity or sympathy, seeing it as showing a sign of weakness within herself. However, whatever wages she made went to keeping a roof over their head, and that also included a roof that had running water and lights that actually turned on when you flipped the switch. Everything added up all too quickly for her, and because her father neglected to be man of the house, Nana had to take that position over… which left her with pretty much zip for herself. Because of this, she often talked to him in a disrespectful manner when she was disgusted with him… which was a lot. Maybe she hoped it would knock some sense into him, or maybe she just had to speak her mind – either way, she found the spiteful words flowing out of her mouth like vomit.

Putting all that aside, though, she still thought of the man who used to take her to the park when she was little. The man who'd buy her ice cream or those cute hair ribbons she absolutely adored, or that CD she'd wanted _so_ badly. The man who used to take her to amusement parks when her mother was still around… Eventually, those things had dwindled down to nothing but ashes when her said woman had left them for a well-to-do business man, and a part – no, more than a mere part – of her father had died. They were her most cherished memories, as they were ones she'd probably never get to re-live, judging by the look of things. Still, she loved her father regardless. If she didn't, she'd have up and left him just like her mother, and then she would only have to support one person instead of two, leaving behind the one of them that had costly habits.

She loved her father (and if anyone was gonna beat some sense into him, it'd be _her_, damn it, not his tall assailant), which is how she found herself jumping on the back of the blond man, growling as ferociously as she could and snapping in his ear like she was some sort of rabid little animal. The bag of instant ramen was forgotten on the ground as she yelled and pounded at the blond to let her father go, but her cries were probably so loud, close, and strung too close together to his ear that it probably sounded like a bunch of gibberish to him. Nana tried choking him with her arms since her legs beginning to slide off his back anyway, dangling above the ground. The darker skinned man found himself staring at the spectacle, and he probably would've laughed if his blond haired companion didn't look like he was ten times more pissed off now that some scrawny _thing_ had hopped onto his back like he was giving out free piggy back rides and was now trying their hardest to constrict his wind pipe. Nana figured that the blond saw her father as less of a threat than her, him being all weepy and snivelly and all, because he dropped her father and then reached a long arm behind him to grab her by the scruff. She yelped as he easily swung her in front of his face by the back of her jacket like she weighed nothing – which wouldn't be too far from the truth, she guessed, because of her eating habits (or rather, lack thereof).

"Let me go, you big bully!" She screeched, glaring at him. She saw his eyes widen a tiny fraction beneath those blue tinted sunglasses of his, and she kicked and wiggled in the hold he had on her. He wasn't expecting it to be some teenage girl – maybe another weak grunt that wanted to try and say he took down Heiwajima Shizuo, but not this. He might be the most brutal ass-kicker in all of Ikebukuro, but hitting girls wasn't his thing. His anger began to die down, and he didn't utter a word as she continued to struggle in his grasp, looking all the part of a disgruntled, rebellious kitten about to be scolded by her owner.

"Didn't you hear me, you big oaf!" _Let me go, she says, and she's the one who jumped on _my_ goddamn back first,_Shizuo thought dryly. Still not about to let her go, he was about to ask her who the hell she thought she was, when their 'client', Tsukamoto Daisuke answered for her.

"N-Nana…?" The balding man stumbled to his feet, blinking rapidly to try and make sense of everything in his alcohol fuddled brain. "What are you- What are you doing, Nana!"

Her neck craned as best as it could to face the man, "Trying to save your sorry butt from being pounded into the concrete, _tou-san_!" She spat at him, and Daisuke seemed to shrink back in shame. While this exchange was going on, Shizuo gave a sideways glance to Tom as if to say _would you care to tell me what the fuck is going on? _Tom merely shrugged, but resumed looking on with some degree of interest at the unfolding situation.

Before her father could say anything back, she continued to prattle on, "And what's this about_ debts_? Why the hell would you take out loans in the first place, huh? Did you think you were just gonna win the money back from racing horses? Did you think you were just gonna find it at the bottom of your stupid bottle of booze?" With each scalding statement from the girl, he seemed to shrivel a little bit more. She squirmed around again, redirecting her scowl to the blond.

"And _you!_ Didn't I tell you to let me go?" She huffed, trying to cross her arms even though she was somewhat restricted by the too big jacket being scrunched up by his hold on it. Ah, yes. Let it be known that Nana could also have a mighty temper at times – it was something she'd developed from having to fend for herself most of the time, something that had come along when she'd finally had enough of bullies teasing her because of her ratty school uniform and her runaway mother and useless father.

_Such a loud voice for such a little person, _Shizuo thought, mentally grimacing as he lowered her onto the sidewalk, and she stuck her nose up at him and dusted off imaginary dust from her coat. Tom cleared his throat – amusing as it had been, business was business, and money still had to be collected nonetheless.

"Tsukamoto-san-" Both pairs of their eyes whipped around to him, one set teary and the other looking quite miffed. He started up again, "There is still a debt to be paid…" Tom could tell that Daisuke was about to try and feed him the same excuse he already had a few minutes ago, but the girl beat him to it.

"What does he owe you people?" Shizuo had lit up another cigarette while quietly puffing it and letting Tom take over again. Observing the girl, he couldn't help but notice the way the girl's shoulders seemed to sag in defeat as she voiced her question, even though she'd been about ready to scratch his eyeballs out - sunglasses or not.

"168080 yen," Tom sighed out, scratching the back of his head. "Haven't gotten any of it back yet, either, and it's been a couple of weeks already…"

Nana was silent for a moment, staring down at the pavement, until she looked back up with a derisive snort. "Well, you're not gonna get it from him, sorry to tell you…" She jerked a thumb back at her sorry looking excuse for a father, "But I'm sure you debt collectors won't let that go. I've seen the movies, y'know!" She announced, and it reminded Shizuo of a child trying to be more wise than she really was.

"So…" Her shoulders dropped even more underneath her raggedy, too-big coat, "I'll take over the payments myself." In that second, gone was the loudmouthed attitude, and in its place was a defeated young woman, looking for all the world like life had trampled all over her one too many times. In that same second, though, she straightened up, a spark coming to her eyes, "Got a problem with that, collectors?" she all but barked, arms crossed and feet spread.

Daisuke looked like he was about to kiss his daughter's feet as Tom stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I suppose it's fine, as long as we get the money owed to us, ne, Shizuo?" The blond grunted in response, taking another drag from his cigarette. Nana's eyes flickered between the both of them.

"So, it's settled, then?" She asked. Tom nodded, and all she could think about was that she was definitely not going to get a new coat or new anything for a while… Another sigh escaped her, and she turned to her father.

"Let's go home, tou-san. I bought us dinner," she retrieved the plastic bag that had been dropped in her surprise attack, holding it up for Daisuke to see.

"A-Actually, Nana-chan…" he started quietly, and she visibly stiffened. Her father only added the –chan to her name when he was about to tell her something he _knew_ she wouldn't like or approve of, as if it would soften the blow or something… which it never did. "I have to go see how the horses are holding up in the race…" At this point, his index fingers began poking together sheepishly, and he slowly backed up little by little. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she gaped at him like a fish.

"So, I'll see you at home later, Nana-chan!" He ditched the slow escape route and decided to go for a full blown sprint, "You're the best daughter ever!" he shouted over his shoulder, leaving a now fuming Nana alone with the two collectors.

"That… that… useless, good-for-nothing-!" Her small fist shook in anger, and momentarily she thought about trying to catch up with him, but she knew it'd be of no use. Instead, she turned to them, trying to even out her breathing.

Shizuo saw a little bit of that crushed spirit showing through her eyes, but like before, it was quickly gone, and she shoved her free hand in her pocket. "Well, collectors… when you're trying to get in touch with me, I'm sure that my father will _gladly_ give you my cell number if you call him about the payments." With a glum look on her face, she turned back around and started walking away from them, shivering as her bag of 'dinner' swung almost desolately against her leg.

"Well… that was interesting. Can't say that's ever happened to me before," Tom chuckled, "I have to say, though, I feel somewhat bad for her. What a dad, huh?"

Shizuo merely grunted again, flicking his cigarette on the ground and stomping it out. He took another glance at the retreating girl, and couldn't refrain from thinking how pitiful her tiny silhouette looked as she meandered off, seeming like the exact picture of someone who felt they had the weight of the world on their shoulders. _Not my problem_, he thought as he followed after Tom to see after the rest of their clientele.

* * *

Nana wiped away the steam that had created a film over her bathroom mirror, examining herself in the reflection. Brown eyes stared back at her, and she picked at her long, wet taupe colored hair, trying to smooth it into some kind of part. She wanted to look as good as she could today; it was time to find another job, of course, now that this debt had been dumped on her.

_Idiot, you brought it on yourself! _She thought grumpily, _But if I didn't… it's not like tou-san would pay them back anytime soon, and I really don't want or need a pair of debt collectors banging down my door, that's for sure! _It had been two weeks since she'd heard or seen the collectors, so she was beginning to expect their appearances any day now…

She shook her head, lightly slapping her cheeks; she had to be focused for her mission today. Sure, Nana already had a job at the local nursing home being a… well, she didn't really have a job title, she surmised. She did all sorts of things, from minor maintenance issues to the gardening, to washing dishes and checking up on the residents (more like keeping them company, which she didn't mind so much). However, no matter how many tasks she juggled there, it wouldn't be nearly enough to cover the expenses of paying those people back. After all, she barely made enough to keep living as it was.

Ever since that night she'd ambushed the blond in a bartender's outfit, she'd been trying nonstop to find a job. Anything would do, really, except she didn't want to have to sell her body… but if she really couldn't find a job, would she have to do that? _Ahh, I hope not!_ Her mind reflected on all the times in the past two weeks she'd been turned down or hadn't heard back from possible employers. With shoulders sagged, she turned out of the bathroom, shaking her head at the loud snores emanating from her father's room.

He'd come home drunk around 3 in the morning last night, as usual; and when he passed out on the floor slobbering all over it, Nana had dragged him to his room and tucked him into bed… as usual. _No point in being miserable about it, if it's not gonna change – at least anytime soon, _she hurriedly reminded herself in an effort to try to keep her spirits afloat. _I guess I could be happy he's not abusive towards me. If anything, it's the other way around… _As she rummaged through the few clothes she had, she realized, to her dismay, that she only had one suitable, nice outfit. It was the same one she'd worn every time she'd gone out job hunting. With a sigh, she grabbed it anyway, coming to terms with the fact that this was gonna be as good as it got.

A few minutes later, she was examining herself in the mirror again. She was wearing a dark blue skirt, some dark hued stockings, and a plain white blouse that tied at the front of her neck. _I guess it works…_ The skirt was shorter than she'd have liked, her clothes being a couple years old; she'd grown taller, but she still looked almost like skin and bones. No matter how much she tried taming her hair, it still had wild waves and she scowled at it, trying fruitlessly to arrange it a different way, but gave it up. She tossed on her big, black pea coat that had seen better days a long, long time ago, grabbing her bag and heading for the door. She was about to pull on the one pair of shoes that she owned, but remembered to write her father a note. Finger on her chin, she wondered about the best way to word the letter.

_Tou-san,_

_Went out to find another job since you SPEND ALL YOUR MONEY, instead of paying your DEBTS and BILLS._

_Love, Nana_

Well, the whole 'Love, Nana' part should sugarcoat it a little… She knew she probably sounded like a too harsh parent, but it was the truth. She still hoped that the more she brought it up and the more that she berated him, he'd try to get his act together; maybe he'd try to be someone his daughter could be proud of. Sighing again (she seemed to be doing that more than usual), she tried to erase the thoughts from her head as she returned to the door. She laced up the brown boots that were sitting by the door, leaving and locking the door behind her.

For it almost being December, it happened to be a beautiful day out. Nana deeply breathed in the crisp air, smiling to herself as the sun's rays washed over her upturned face. _I'm glad I won't be freezing to the bone today… _She hoped that this great weather was pointing to this being a great day. A great day to her consisted of these things: finding a job and avoiding the collectors.

Sure, she had a _little _bit of money she could give to them, but she'd kind of need it for dinner the rest of this week. Nana had been so sure she'd be able to find a job before this much time had passed… now she felt like she was about to start nibbling her nails until she didn't have any left. She put on a strong front – well, not to say she wasn't strong, but there was no way she'd be able to defend herself against those people; especially the guy who'd gripped up her father, who was a fully grown man – and her, like it was nothing. Mid step, she had a horrible flash of one of the possible ways a meeting between them could go; she'd end up throttled by that tall blond, probably looking just as pathetic as her father, all mush and blood and gore on the sidewalk…

"Yo, Tsukamoto-san."

The voice had come from below in the middle of her thoughts, at the foot of the stairs she was walking down, and it nearly startled the life out of her. She let out an "Eeeek!" before almost falling down the stairs.

Clutching the railing for dear life with one leg wrapped around one of the bars, she glared at the voice – It was that Tanaka guy with his big blond sidekick who was looking off to the side disinterestedly while puffing a cigarette.

"D-Didn't your mother ever tell you not to sneak up on people!" she asked, her voice being too high for her liking. He just chuckled and apologized (not that sincerely, might she add…). There goes the one half of what would make this a great day, she thought exasperatingly.

"I wasn't sneaking up, Tsukamoto-san. I was in plain view, wasn't I?"

The girl grumbled and slowly detached herself from the stairway railing, still looking at them warily. Tom continued, "Now, I distinctly remember us making a deal about two weeks ago-"

"Yeah, yeah, I remember." Looking slightly crestfallen, she walked down the remaining stairs, fumbling in her bag. She opened up her wallet, frowning at it. _Well, stomach, you're gonna be aching until payday_, she thought, feeling like she wanted to cry. At least payday was only a couple days away... she could manage. It was only a little bit of money – there were probably some cobwebs and tumbleweeds in there, too… "I'm sorry, but this is all I have." She held out two blue thousand yen notes.

Tom raised a brow, but took the money anyways as she shoved the now empty wallet back in her bag. "That's it?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, she looked up sharply.

"What do you mean, 'That's it?'" Her brows were furrowed in anger, "I'll have you know that that was the money I needed for food this week-!" Nana clapped her hands over her mouth.

Even though she tried to stop herself from sounding so damn pathetic, she'd failed. Miserably. It was humiliating enough that she could barely feed herself – now she'd just announced to two strangers that she wasn't even going to be able to do that. Her face flamed red with embarrassment.

"I… I mean…" Her eyes drooped and she tugged at the ends of her long hair. "Argh!" With that, she threw her hands up in the air and started stalking away.

"Well… it's at least something, I suppose." Tom mused, then started walking back into the city, Shizuo trailing behind him silently.

* * *

It was late evening when Nana dropped herself on a park bench, feeling quite defeated. Again, she'd had no success; she'd gotten the same responses she had every day the past two weeks. Nowhere was hiring. The girl had gone into a couple of boutiques, but they only eyed her worn clothing with distaste and told her the same thing. Restaurants and cafes weren't interested in having to train someone with no serving experience, convenience stores didn't need that many employees, and some stores were only family owned… _Damn it._ She felt that horrid lump start to grow in the back of her throat, and tears came unbidden to her eyes.

_Damn it!_ Her stomach grumbled – it had been grumbling like that since she'd woken up this morning. Her hunger that she was trying to ignore was the last straw that broke the camel's back; or in her case, the dam that was holding back all the stress and tears she'd been withholding. Soon, Nana found herself openly sobbing, fists clenched tightly in her lap as she bawled alone in the park. _What the hell am I going to do? I can't handle this pressure… Maybe I should've just left tou-san to fend for himself. _But the thought of her abandoning her father made her cry harder.

_You should be ashamed of yourself, Tsukamoto Nana. To even think of abandoning your flesh and blood… you're horrible, aren't you?_ Her eyes stared half lidded at the ground in front of her, and amidst all the tears, she desperately hoped no one was around to hear her pathetic wails. Like before, someone up there must have not liked her, because the next thing she knew large, dark shoes had appeared in her line of vision. _Ugh, this whole park is empty, but someone has to come over to me when I'm looking like this…_

"Yo," came a gruff voice from above.

She stared back at her lap, trying to blink and rub the tears away before she tried to even look at whoever it was that was bothering her. When she looked up, she felt her mouth gape open a little. It was the blond guy, Mr. Dreads' partner in crime. _One half of my problem_, she almost thought, then corrected herself, _Ahhh… It's not his fault, and you know it, Nana. He didn't force tou-san to take out a loan or anything…_

"What is it?" she questioned with bleary eyes. She must've looked a mess. Her hair was tangled from being tugged and raked through from frustration, her eyes were all red and puffy, and she probably had snot running down her face like a two year old.

He didn't say anything, just studied her through those blue tinted sunglasses of his. He took out a cigarette from his pack and took a seat next to her, lighting it up. She turned her head to ask him again, when her stomach decided to rumble again; its sound was akin to an earthquake off the Richter scale, and she flushed in embarrassment. She hurriedly got up and was about to walk away to save herself some unnecessary indignity when he finally spoke, exhaling a flurry of smoke.

"Do you like sushi?"

* * *

A teary acknowledgment that yes, she _did_ like sushi and a short walk later, Shizuo found himself sitting across from Tsukamoto Nana at Russian Sushi as she violently shoveled food down her throat. At first, she'd been a bit timid with her food, almost playing with it, but now she seemed to have no qualms about pigging out in front of him. She was demolishing everything on the plate, even that weird prosciutto sushi that Simon seemed to be so fond of.

She appeared to have remembered that someone was actually sitting across from her and stopped her chopsticks in mid air, lowering them down to her plate. "Um… Shizuo-san, right?" He figured she heard Simon calling his name in his over pronounced accent when they entered, and he nodded. A slight blush on her cheeks, she looked at the spot right next to his head.

"Why did you buy me this?" Her gaze went back to her lap, "I mean… I told you I didn't have any money-…" Instantly, the timid look she'd had was gone in a flash, and the attitude he'd seen the first night she'd attacked him was in place, in addition to a look of realization.

"W-Wait a sec! You're not putting this on top of all my debt, are you?" Her cheeks flushed even more in indignation, "Is that how you collectors do things nowadays?" She asked in a shrilly tone.

She opened her mouth to let loose more accusations when he simply said, "I felt like it."

Rebukes forgotten, she stared at him. Blinking rapidly, she reddened even more than she already had, "…O-oh." Feeling embarrassed, she looked anywhere but him. "Then… thanks, Shizuo-san. And s-sorry," she mumbled.

He shrugged, "It wasn't anything." He had a feeling that it was to her, though. Judging by the way she shoveled that food down and that humongous growl her stomach produced at the park, she hadn't eaten that much food in a while. Shizuo couldn't imagine what that would be like; he and Kasuka always had food to eat, along with three square meals a day. Even when they had both moved out, he'd never really gone hungry. He supposed he just felt bad for this waif of a girl that was sitting there rubbing her stomach contentedly.

"Either way… thanks. Really." She gave him a tiny smile. _This girl switches moods like a light switch..._

* * *

_Who'd have thought he was such a nice guy? _She asked herself as she waved at him from her apartment door upstairs. He gave a lazy salute then walked away from the complex, into the night. She watched him for a few seconds before entering her dark apartment.

_Boy, am I glad he said something before I accused him of wanting my body as 'payment'…_

* * *

A/N: I'm condensing the chapters and re-editing some stuff; nothing important, it's just me re-reading stuff and itching to change it...


	2. two

A/N: Thank you Soulless Ghosty, PhoenixSummer, Café-Publications, and Noc and NC; your reviews mean the world to me and help me churn these out even faster~

I don't own Durarara!

* * *

**chapter two ; while the radio is playing ...**

Two long days had passed since Nana had a meltdown at the park; in those two days, she still hadn't been successful in her hunt for a job. _I don't get it! Do I have a sign on me that says 'DO NOT HIRE'? Jeez… _She rolled over in her bed, hoping to quell the grumble in her stomach if she laid on it. Thank God, it was only one more day until payday... If only they understood how badly she needed the job - however, she wasn't about to make herself look pitiable on purpose, so what alternative did she have?

She refused to beg; she would just take it in stride like she tried to do with most things in her life. _People are so mean sometimes…_ Her mind went back to when Shizuo had bought her dinner. _Well, maybe not some._ She hadn't eaten that well in – actually, she couldn't even remember.

Now she felt a little bad about jumping on him, but he _had_ been about to beat her father into a bloody pulp. _Either way, I think I'll apologize the next time I see him. _She had really appreciated that dinner – no one ever bought her anything, really, but he fed her anyways, without expecting anything in return. An act as kind of that was as hard to come by as... well, for her, a job.

Walking there, he hadn't asked her what was wrong; actually, now that she thought about it, he didn't try to offer any words of comfort or condolence. He had been silent almost the whole time, for which she was immensely grateful.

Nana hadn't wanted to open up to anybody at that time; if she did, she was sure it would have lead to a torrential downpour of even more tears, and Nana felt like she was embarrassed enough as it was. Also, as bad as her situation seemed, she figured some people had worse worries than finding a job, and she didn't want to seem like a whiny brat... she was almost twenty years old, after all. With a groan, she rose out of bed, stretching her limbs and combing a hand through her hair.

_I hope today goes a lot better than all these other times. Things can only be so bad until they get good… right?_

Her father was at work, she assumed, since the house was empty. Believe it or not, her father was actually a hard worker – it just so happened that he was only working hard to be able to get drunk and gamble. She scowled at the empty bottles of alcohol scattered around the living room, and set to the task of cleaning them up before getting ready to have her day get started.

* * *

About an hour and a half later, the afternoon had begun in Ikebukuro, it was the weekend, and the streets were even more crowded than usual. Nana had been rejected two more times already – one by a florist (she didn't know nearly as many types of flowers that they would have liked her to), the other a bank (Nana was never good at numbers unless it was adding up her bills, and she probably never would be).

_Stay strong, Nana! You can do this! _She nodded assuredly to herself, her fist clutched in front of her chest. _There are still lots of places I have checked yet, anyways! Besides, I have a good feeling about today… I think._

She was in the middle of scoping out the shops on the other street, walking hastily as to make the most of her time, surpassing the people walking lazily in the crowd. Nana hadn't really paying attention to where she was walking, when she bumped into a hard surface, falling straight onto her rear.

Nana let out a cry of surprise as she thought, _Huh? How did a wall get here-_ A hand found its way into her vision, and she looked up to see Shizuo, who's other hand was occupied by a cigarette.

"You alright?" He questioned. He was dressed in the same bartender get up that she'd seen him in every time they'd met so far, and his thick blond hair glinted in the sunlight as he reached down. _I wonder why he wears that when he's not even a bartender…_

She blinked at him, "You're not a wall..." He raised a brow as she waved off his hand, "I'm fine!" Nana got up and brushed off her bottom as he retracted his hand. _Now would be the time to apologize_, she reminded herself.

Clearing her throat, she peered up at him again, "Shizuo-san, ah..."

"Just Shizuo's fine. The –san makes me feel old." Bronze eyes behind blue tinted sunglasses were staring at her intently, waiting for her to finish. Finding his gaze a bit too intense, she sheepishly redirected her eyes to her scuffed up boots.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry for... _you know_."

"I know?" He echoed back, brow still raised. He took a drag of a cigarette, "I don't. What are you apologizing for, again?"

"For... you know... jumping-on-you-and-trying-to-choke-you!" It came out in a jumble of words, and while he was trying to decipher exactly what the hell she had just said, she continued, "I probably hurt you, right? I did kind of ambush you... so, I'm sorry!"

Nana looked up sharply as he let out a miniscule chuckle. "W-What are you laughing at?" He shook his head, taking another puff through a tiny smirk. "Oi! I'm trying to apologize, and now you're gonna laugh at me!"

She huffed, trying her hardest not to stomp her foot like a toddler. "Well, f-fine then! Be that way!" She began to walk past him, already beginning to berate herself for using the phrase 'be that way' when a large hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Tsukamoto-san, I wasn't laughing at you." He let go of her, and she turned to face him, swiveling a glare up to his now blank face.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure!" _Everyone usually laughs at me for one reason or another... and to think, I almost didn't think this guy was a jerk! A bit stoic, but whatever! Now he's just a stoic jerk, _she thought balefully. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was people laughing at her, no matter what the reason was.

"You said you probably hurt me," He flicked his cigarette into the street, "And that's almost impossible." _... a stoic, arrogant jerk it is now!_

"Impossible? How exactly is that impossible! You're just as human as the rest of us, y'know!" She shot out with her arms crossed, looking up at him.

He was silent. Nana thought she might have seen some indescribable emotion flash behind those sunglasses, but just as the thought crossed her mind, it was gone.

"…Yeah, it would appear that way."

A few seconds passed in silence, and she found herself looking off to the side. The way he'd said it made her think there was some kind of double meaning to his words. _Now I feel like I said something rude… but _he_ was the one laughing at _me_! _Also, she couldn't help but notice how people around them were giving them a wider berth than if it was just her standing there. In fact, people would probably be yelling at her to move, but…

_Maybe he has some kind of reputation? _Some were even whispering and looking at them as they walked by, talking behind their hands and throwing glances behind their shoulders even as they walked away. Ah, and if there was_another_ thing she couldn't stand, it was people talking about her – which they were obviously doing.

"The hell are you people whispering about?" She shook a fist at a group of teenage offenders, trying to give them her most menacing stare. "Go mind your business elsewhere, you nosy bastards!" They stiffened, not even throwing a rude reply back as they hurried off.

He was silently observing her after her little outburst, and she bit her lip. She tried holding on to the last vestiges of her temper, but when she saw his face, looking as calm as ever despite the whispering passerby, she found she couldn't.

Nana sighed, "Well, either way, I'm sorry. Whether I hurt you or not, it still wasn't the best thing for me to do…"

"I'd do worse than that if I'd been you. Don't worry about it, Tsukamoto-san."

"Nana…" she gulped as she looked down at her feet, "You can call me Nana… i-if you want. It's only polite if you want me to call you Shizuo, right?" She looked back up, tucking back her taupe colored hair behind an ear sheepishly. "Also… I wanted to thank you again for dinner the other night."

* * *

"…thank you again for dinner the other night."

_Thank him for dinner? Ah, Shizu-chan~ trying to charm the pants off of someone, finally?_

A smirk crossed Orihara Izaya's face as he caught the tail end of the girl's statement. He was leaning on a wall in the alley, right around the corner from where the blond and that girl were. He'd been wandering around the city, people watching (they were his favorite things in the world, after all), when he'd come across this little nugget of gold. Thankfully, he'd seen Shizuo before he could spot him, or else he wouldn't be able to even get his hands on any of this.

"It wasn't anything, Nana." _First name basis, too! _He thought gleefully.

The girl cleared her throat, "Well, Shizuo…I really have to be on my way now. I need to find a job, and I've had no luck so far, so…"

"Good luck, Nana. See you soon." Peering around, he saw the girl and Shizuo head off in the opposite directions. _See you soon, huh? Could it be they have another rendezvous planned?_

Izaya felt his grin grow even wider as he processed all the information. It came out something like this:

_Shizu-chan's friend is having no luck finding a job._

Or rather, maybe this: _If I give this Nana a job, it'll irritate him to no end that his _friend_ has his most hated enemy as a_boss, _listening to my every command, and_.._._

With the wheels in his head already spinning up ways to rub this in Shizuo's face the next time they met, Izaya gracefully dipped out of the alley, face still split in a less than innocent smile.

He was sure the girl would take his offer – if there was one thing Izaya knew, it was how to make an offer nobody could possibly resist.

* * *

"Excuse me, miss?"

Nana was oblivious to the world, glancing all around her at shop signs and checking doors and windows to see if there were any 'hiring' signs posted.

"Miss?"

_Nothing at all… aghhh, what am I doing wrong? Have I walked under some ladders? Maybe crossed paths with a black cat?_She was about to name even more superstitious instances that could provoke such bad luck when she was startled out of her reverie by a hand clamping on her shoulder.

"Miss?"

She turned around, curious as to who was stopping her in the middle of the sidewalk, and looked up at dark mahogany colored eyes. "Ah… yes?"

He let go of her shoulder, seeing as he finally had her attention, and she instinctively took a step back. She was in the middle of studying the man – short, dark hair, slim body, furry jacket much like one she wished she had (it looked awfully warm) – when he spoke.

"I couldn't help but overhear that you're in search of a job." He tilted his head, giving her a friendly smile.

His smile was amiable enough, but something like this… she'd been searching for a job for more than two weeks, and now one was just going to pop up in front of her? Nana believed in opportunities, yes, but she also believed that nothing was handed to you on a platter. Well, unless you were a spoiled rich kid… which she wasn't in the least bit.

_It can't hurt to hear him out, I guess. _Brows furrowed in suspicion, she wrapped her big coat around her a little tighter, and she adjusted the bag on her shoulder. "Yes, I am…"

"Well, you see, my old secretary recently quit. She just found out she's going to have a baby – isn't that great? – and here I am, worried I'll have to go through the process of finding someone else… how lucky am I to hear that someone needs a job?" He asked, arms up with palms facing the sky.

Nana blinked at him. "Not to be rude or anything, but… you know how shady this seems?" She scratched the side of her face with a finger, "For all I know, you could be someone in human trafficking or something of the sort." She turned on her heel, about to leave. _If he's not lying, I'm walking away from something I desperately need…_

He laughed – laughed! – at her, and just as she was about to tell him off for laughing at someone who was just being _cautious_, he took a step towards her, beginning to speak again.

"If I was in human trafficking, I'd do it at night, wouldn't I? Somewhere less crowded, that's for sure. Or I could just use brute force and easily drag you off into, say, this alley right here." He gestured to the alley a couple feet away. "Hey, how about this?" He turned to the people on the sidewalk.

"Hello, everybody! My name is Orihara Izaya, and I am offering this girl here," he pointed at Nana, "a job!" The crowd either shied away from him or gave him looks that clearly said, 'weirdo.'

He faced her again, "There! Now, if you went missing or something else unfortunate happened to you, I'd have been the last person you were seen with. They even have my name!" He smiled at her in what she guessed was supposed to be a reassuring manner.

Inside her head, she was beginning to brand him as 'weirdo' as well. "Uhh…" _What do you even say to something like that?_

"You need a job, don't you? Like I said, it's a secretarial position. My office is in Shinjuku-"

She held a hand up. "Shinjuku? I'm sorry, but even if I was interested, I wouldn't be able to afford the fare for getting back and forth from Ikebukuro to Shinjuku…"

* * *

If Izaya was a lesser man – no, if he was more like the normal humans he loved to play with oh so much, he was sure he'd have a tick in his forehead right now. She wasn't as dumb as he thought she'd be; after all, you'd have to be pretty foolish to willingly be around Shizuo. The blond would be able to snap this frail looking girl in front of him with a twitch of his fingers if she made his temper flare up… which wasn't a hard task to do.

The 'she's having a baby, isn't that great?' thing hadn't worked either. He meant to make her think he was someone who liked kids and possibly wanted some of his own one day; which, to the average girl, would therefore make him a trustworthy person.

While he was slightly annoyed (just a teensy bit though – annoyance was a frivolity that only normal people experienced), he felt himself growing excited at the prospect of someone who wasn't entirely predictable – just because she'd surpassed his expectations at their first meeting (because this wouldn't be their last, oh no) didn't mean she wouldn't later, which would work out for him either way.

"I'll supply you with a rail pass. How convenient!"

He wasn't letting this juicy bit get away – ah, it'd be _so fun_ once he got all this into motion. Izaya could tell she was having a mental tug of war in her head. He could practically hear her thoughts; one side was probably telling her that she needed a job, any job, and hell – it was better than selling her body, right? The other was most likely telling her to run far away from this too good to be true situation.

"Ah… Orihara-san, I-" she was looking very doubtful; Izaya decided it was time to up the ante.

"How about this; I'll double whatever you made at your old job." She seemed to ponder this over in her head. He knew he'd win this one – people loved money, and twice more than what they usually had was too tantalizing to deny. He was already visualizing her response: _"Double the pay? Really? I'll take it! Thank you so _very_ much, Orihara-san-"_

"I still have a job, Orihara-san." God, he wanted to let loose a huge grin right now, but it'd be too out of place; really though, she was something else. She'd still managed to veer off from what he'd thought would have been a sure shot acceptance. It was fine; it would only make his impending victory even greater.

"Like I said, I'll double the pay. You won't even have to work there anymore!" He slid the 'I am a person worthy of your trust' smile back onto his face.

She stared at the ground, oatmeal colored hair sliding over her face like a veil. There it was, the mental tug of war again – Izaya knew she'd take it. He calculated what he'd just learned in his head; she already had one job, but was looking for another – that meant she was in financial distress, and certainly in no position to refuse such a good offer. Another telltale sign of said financial problems was her clothing – every article he could see on her looked like they'd been worn a thousand times over.

"I… I…"

He could practically see the mental rope being tugged far to the other side, the side that screamed at her to take this generous offer before she was too late and back to hopelessly job searching with no results.

"…I'll take it!"

She looked up at Izaya with both determination and uncertainty reflected in her brown eyes. He belatedly thought to himself how much better her plain jane eyes looked with two conflicting emotions in them as he reveled in the fact he'd won, yet again.

No surprise there – because when Izaya played a game, he always played to win.

* * *

"Ah, that's great! I'm so glad to hear that!"

She was hoping she didn't just make a huge mistake, but how was she supposed to resist the allure of twice the money she was making now? He looked friendly enough, she supposed…

"Well - I need to know my new employee's name!" He urged her, and she thought he might look a _little_ too excited about this whole thing – but then she promptly told herself to shut the hell up and be happy she had a job after uselessly searching everyday for the past two weeks.

"Tsukamoto Nana. Thank you for this opportunity, Orihara-san…" She bowed slightly to him, missing the wide smirk that he couldn't contain dance across his face for a split second.

"Ah, I'll call you Nana-hime then! You don't mind, right?" He did the head tilt again, lips curling upwards.

"A-ah… -hime? I suppose it's alright, though I'm certainly no princess." She felt the slightest tinge of red come to her cheeks. How anyone could call her 'princess' when she was obviously anything but was beyond her.

"Well, _Nana-hime_, how about we have you start on Monday? Do you have an e-mail I could send you with the directions?" He questioned innocently, and she felt almost embarrassed with her next words.

"I don't have a computer, I'm sorry… would it be okay if I just wrote it down?" Almost everyone in Japan had a computer except for her, she was sure of it. She'd just never been able to afford one, and with the way she worked, it wasn't like she'd have any time for it, anyway.

She dug around in her bag, "I have a pen and paper somewhere around here…" Letting out a small 'ah hah!' she handed the aforementioned items to him. She was beginning to feel better about this whole thing. She could already feel the relief washing over her, slowly soothing all the extra stress that had accumulated over the past two weeks away.

He held it out for her to take again, and she noticed he'd scribbled his phone number on it. "Then, Nana-hime, I'll be seeing you on Monday at… shall we say, 10 in the morning?"

"Yes! Thanks again, Orihara-san!" He spun around and began walking the other way.

"No, thank _you_." He called out over shoulder, and let the huge, toothy grin take over his face as he sauntered away.

* * *

_What to do now? Hmmm…_

She had come out for job searching, but finally – finally! – she'd found one, so she was pretty much free until Monday. It wasn't like she would be working at her other job; they'd been giving her less and less hours as time went by. She'd have to tell her now old job that she'd be leaving, but she figured that could wait until tomorrow. Times like this she wished she had friends – she could call them up on her cell phone that she could barely afford and make plans to do _something_.

She took out her phone, looking at her contacts, and realized she only had her father's workplace number and her old job's. She perked up a little bit, remembering she could now add Orihara Izaya to the list… which made a grand total of three. She felt a bit pathetic, but shrugged and put her phone away.

Right when she was about to ask herself what she should do, her stomach rumbled, and she stiffened. It was lunchtime, though, so she guessed it was only normal to feel her hunger start to kick in now. She brought out her wallet and grimaced after a look inside. There wasn't much, but it'd be enough to be able to buy something…

Nana glanced around until she spotted a convenience store, making her way over with a slight skip in her step. Even though things were bleak now, she'd just gotten a job, she reminded herself. Not only that, a job double the pay… that meant she'd be getting 1600 yen instead of 800. A smile unfolded on her lips as she waltzed into the store, and she picked up some onigiri. After she'd been rung up, she walked outside and decided to walk home so she could eat.

Five minutes through the walk, however, she'd decided she didn't feel like waiting and began to open the package. Still fiddling with the wrapping, she turned the corner – only to have a street sign almost impale her on the spot, landing with a clatter a foot away from her. Her onigiri, finally freed from their confines plopped on the sidewalk in her surprise.

Nana found herself wondering what she should be more upset over; the fact she'd almost just been killed, or the fact that her food she'd been looking forward to had found residence on the dirty sidewalk. Her lip wobbled dangerously, and she turned to yell at whoever the hell had thrown the sign when she caught sight of who it was.

It was Shizuo; the man who had bought her dinner and walked her home with his comforting silence now had a vending machine in his clutches, a feral look in his eyes as he stood over some guy who looked like the average thug. A couple more men were scattered around him, either moaning or knocked out. A crowd of people had their phones out, whispering to each other.

The girl could only stare at the events unfolding in front of her eyes; was this why they'd been getting those strange looks earlier? And how the hell was he so _strong_? The thug scrambled to his feet at the last second as Shizuo threw the machine down at him, luckily dodging it; he was now looking around frantically, and his eyes landed on her. He practically flew at her, and she held up her arms in defense.

She was stuck in a death grip as the thug held her in front of him like a shield. _W-What the-! _Nana didn't have time to voice her thoughts, or even mentally finish them, because while she was getting grabbed, Shizuo had taken a running charge at them. All she saw was a fist coming at her at what she swore was the speed of light.

The blond's eyes widened, and he dug his feet in the ground to try and stop himself. Nana was pretty sure she was seeing her life flash before her eyes. _It figures this happens when I finally find a job…!_ She clenched her eyes shut, expecting pain to blossom across her face – but nothing. She slowly opened one eye to find his fist less than a mere inch away from her nose.

"…Nana?" She opened her other eye, blinking rapidly.

"S-Shizuo! How… what?" She uttered, unable to even make any sense of what she'd just seen. The strength he possessed, it was inhuman…

_"Impossible? How exactly is that impossible! You're just as human as the rest of us, y'know!" She shot out with her arms crossed, looking up at him. He was silent. Nana thought she might have seen some indescribable emotion flash behind those sunglasses, but just as the thought crossed her mind, it was gone._  
_  
"…Yeah, it would appear that way."_  
_  
So that's what he meant…_ The shaking body behind her reminded Nana of the thug who'd tried to use her as defense; she hadn't even remembered she was being held in a vice grip for a second, she'd been so stupefied. She imagined Shizuo hadn't done anything to him yet because he was still mulling over the fact he'd almost pounded in her face until it resembled a pancake.

He was still staring at her, probably surprised she hadn't passed out from being so close to being seriously injured, when he took notice of the guy holding onto her like she was his last lifeline.

Shizuo grit his teeth, and Nana felt a feeling wash over her (she distantly labeled it as 'fear') at the crazed look on his face as he grabbed the guy by the collar, taking a hold of his hand that lay on her shoulder; the blond gnashed his teeth together, eyes narrowed, and Nana heard multiple cracks coming together to form one big _snap!_ and she realized he'd just broken the thug's hand by simply tightening his grasp. The grip on her loosened somewhat; well, more like from the one side, since he was still clutching onto her with one hand, squeezing her shoulder painfully and wailing because of the pain in his hand.

"Get… the hell… _off of her_!" Shizuo all but roared, and did the same to the other hand before tossing the guy to the end of the street and beyond.

Nana felt her knees knock against each other as she slid down on the ground, staring up at Shizuo as his chest heaved and he dusted off his hands, the image of him tossing a full grown man to the end of the block – no, it was even farther than that – playing in her head like a movie reel. The crowd started dispersing, now that their entertainment was done and over with.

And like almost nothing had even transpired, he bent at the waist and gave her his hand. She lowered her gaze to his hand, and then back to him. All she could manage out was, "Uh - wha…?"

Shizuo let out the tiniest sigh, then lifted her up from under her arms, holding onto her until he was sure was stable.

"You okay?" He questioned, letting go. Still at a loss for words, Nana stared at him some more, mouth slightly agape.

"H-how did you… vending machine? A-and threw him really, really far…" she stuttered out the only words she could think of. He scratched the back of his head, a slight scowl on his face.

"Yeah, I know. Are you afraid now?" She could see his fist clenching and unclenching at his side as he eyed her in what she she thought _he thought_ was a nonchalant manner.

The girl stared at him, her eyes boring into his. She thought about how easily she had almost become a Nana-kabob, how he'd hefted the machine and the man like they were nothing more than toys, and how scared she'd been to see his fist so close to breaking her nose…

"Yes…" It came out more feeble sounding than she'd wanted it to. His eyes closed, and he spun on his heel to retreat, already reaching for his pack of cigarettes.

She also thought about how angry he'd been to see the thug using her as defense, and her mind went back to how he'd bought her dinner when no one else in the whole, wide, damn city would even bother thinking about it.

Nana thought about how he probably thought he was a freak of nature, or a monster; how distant a strength like that must make him feel from other people. _"…Yeah, it would appear that way."_ His words rung in her ears like a mantra, and she tugged at his sleeve before he could leave.

"…and no." Shizuo turned back to her, still quiet. Her eyes were searching his while his sunglasses were actually off; she realized they were actually quite nice, now that they weren't narrowed in a dangerous manner…

Shizuo didn't move to remove her hand from his sleeve, still turned at the waist from when he'd been walking away, yet still facing her. It was completely silent, the only sounds being the traffic and the gaggle of people's blurry conversations. And at perfect timing, as usual, her stomach grumbled with impatience, "A-ah…"

She looked away sheepishly, a blush coming to her cheeks. _Couldn't my stomach just wait at least a couple minutes?_Her eyes widened and she gasped as she remembered her poor-

"My onigiriiii!" She moaned with sadness, and she let go of his sleeve to turn and cast a sad glance at what _was_ her onigiri; now it was being trampled over by people, laying right next to the street sign that she'd luckily managed to avoid. Her head hung down with exasperation. _Jeez…_

Shizuo saw the street sign and recognized it as the one he'd thrown, and judging from where she was sadly staring at her squished lunch, he distantly realized that she'd probably only dropped them because…

"Come on." She glanced up and realized he had spoken, lighting up a cigarette, then sliding his hands in his pocket.

"Huh? Come where?" Nana asked, confused.

Shizuo began walking away, a trail of smoke swirling behind him. "Come on," he repeated, "Simon loves it when people eat that weird shit they serve."

He didn't wait and see if she would follow or not, but she trotted after him anyway, staring dumbfounded at his back.


	3. three

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews, I love them love them~ And to answer somewhat of a question from Café, Nana does weigh the pros and cons, and the good and the bad when it comes to people. Whether or not this will get her into trouble or not remains to be seen, however…

It's not that long of a chapter, but please enjoy, and sorry for the longer wait!

I don't own Durarara!

* * *

**chapter three ; there is no meaning in goodbye ...**

Shizuo found that he took some kind of comfort in the sound of her small footsteps pitter pattering beside his as they walked to Russia Sushi. It would be an understatement to say he was surprised that she had even followed him after he'd almost punched her to next Tuesday; actually, coming from him, he'd say 'next year'.

Glancing at her from the corner of his eyes, he saw she had a thoughtful look on his face. Maybe Nana herself was wondering why the hell she was following him, too... Shizuo realized at this time that he hadn't even apologized for anything that happened; he thought she might deserve one for simply still bothering to be around him.

"Nana."

Her head snapped up and her face turned upward to look at him. "Huh? Yeah?"

The blond faced forward again. Somehow, he couldn't say these words looking her in the eyes; he felt slightly ashamed, looking in those eyes that didn't hold the unspoken word of _monster._

"I'm… sorry. About almost hitting you. Sorry. I should've been more aware-"

Still facing forward and concentrating on his poor apology, he didn't notice she'd stepped in front of him in the stance she held the first night he met her until he bumped into her. Blinking, he glanced down at her small form; she really was short, seeing as he had to crane his neck down to stare her fully in the eyes.

Nana almost lost her balance, but quickly regained it, standing once more with her feet spread and arms crossed. "Shizuo! Why are you beating yourself up over this?"

Her brown eyes were narrowed at him, and she uncrossed her arms to poke him in the chest. "It's not like you could help it, right? So why the hell would you apologize for something you couldn't help? Jeez!"

He wanted to say that it _was_ his fault, and that she wouldn't even be in that position if he wasn't Heiwajima Shizuo. It _was_ his fault that he had a temper akin to a raging bull, and that it _was_ his fault for having so many people try to take him down to steal the title of 'strongest man in Ikebukuro'; the title that he never wanted.

Like before, she cut him off, jabbing him roughly in the chest with her finger. "I'm sure you probably have a reputation – ah, no offense – so it would be _that guy's_ fault for trying to make a match out of something he couldn't compare with."

She rolled her eyes, giving up on attacking him with her little finger, and returned to stand by his side. "I mean, really, he must've been an idiot…"

_Maybe you're the idiot here, Tsukamoto Nana._ "…I'm still sorry."

He resumed walking again, eyes glued to the front. Shizuo heard her sigh in defeat, and she threw her hands in the air, almost smacking him in the face with them. "If it makes you feel any better, I, Nana, forgive you. _Even though_ I shouldn't have to forgive you in the first place. For, you know, doing something you didn't mean to do!"

Guiltily, he let a smile creep up on his lips; guilty because he felt ashamed to admit he was kind of starting to take a liking to this girl with sudden mood swings, and because he felt he might be taking advantage of that small, budding amount of trust in her eyes when he knew it could happen again.

Nana was now looking away, hands folding together and apart nervously. "Shizuo?" He gave a grunt to let her know he had heard her, and she continued, "I know I've asked you this before, but… why are you buying me a meal again?" She had stopped playing with her hands to tug at the ends of her hair.

"Is there a reason why I shouldn't?" He retorted; Shizuo didn't think he had ever known someone to worry about a free meal as much as she did.

"N-no, I guess there isn't… It's just that, well, this kind of stuff never happens to me. At least, with people not wanting something in return for it." She sheepishly mumbled, "It's a… strange concept to me, I guess."

"You want a reason that bad? How'd you drop your onigiri?"

She didn't strike him to be the type of person to frivolously throw away food, especially when still untouched. The only reason he could think of was that she'd been distracted or almost hit with the street sign he'd spotted a foot away from the remains of her uneaten lunch. Shizuo could see her stiffen from the corner of his eye, and then scratch her head and laugh nervously.

"Oh! Well, I was just minding my own business, trying to open it, and…" He could tell she was fumbling for words, "… you know how hard those packages can be sometimes, right?"

He refrained from telling her that he could probably open the wrapping by simply whispering across it.

"…And I'm walking when all of a sudden, a black cat crossed my path!"

The blond bodyguard raised a brow. "Nana."

_Of all things, a black cat? How the hell am I supposed to even believe that…_

"But that's not even what made me drop it! I was so distracted and… worrying about bad luck that I stopped walking, and then some guy bumped into me. Hard! But don't worry, I gave them-"

"Nana." Shizuo tried again.

"-a piece of my mind, believe me! … And that's how I dropped my lunch." She finished somewhat lamely.

With a disbelieving look in his eye, he turned towards her. "You're a terrible liar, Nana."

He knew she was lying to save him from feeling some kind of guilt; to tell the truth, he felt a little touched. Few people tried to spare his feelings – unless they were trying to prevent getting themselves beat into the ground, that is.

The taupe haired girl crossed her arms again, strides quickening a little bit to better match with his. "Are you accusing me of lying, Shizuo? Because, you know, I'm not!" She added in, rather unconvincingly if he might say so himself – not that Nana knew it sounded that way.

Pouting, she continued on as he just listened to her try to defend her white lie. "Is it really that rare to run into an animal and then bump into someone? It's the city, people bump into each other all the time, right? Jeez!"

She snuck a glance at him, but Shizuo was already looking at her with a tiny smile on his face. "I guess it isn't."

The girl looked taken aback for a second, and he wondered if he'd accidentally slipped on the ferocious grin he had a tendency to wear when he demolished people who pissed him off. That'd explain the look she just had, but she still hadn't looked away, and her pace slowed again because of it.

"Isn't… what? You guess what?" She seemed to have snapped out of it, and was staring at her boots as she caught up to match his pace again.

"I guess it's not rare to bump into people in the city. That's what you were saying, right?"

"Ah, yeah! It isn't!" She rubbed the back of head, letting out another giggle.

"Shizuo! Good to see you! You eat sushi?"

They'd reached Russia Sushi, and were met outside by the huge man Nana had come to learn was Simon. He towered over the both of them, and Nana found herself staring at him in sheer awe at his size, even though she met him once before. He seemed to have notice her staring, and turned away from Shizuo and gave her a start by grabbing her hands.

"You are Shizuo's friend? Saw you here before, you like prosciutto sushi!"

"I… I don't really know," she mumbled quietly, and Shizuo discovered that he didn't really know either. "I do like your sushi, though… especially the prosciutto one!" Nana added quickly.

It was enough for Simon, because he let go of one of her hands and grabbed Shizuo with the other, all but dragging them into the small restaurant, "Come eat sushi, be happy! Sushi better with friends…"

* * *

Half an hour later, Nana was yet again rubbing her stomach happily, her other hand holding tea. "Thanks a lot, Shizuo! Really, I need to do something for you since you keep buying me food…" She trailed off, staring at him. "What do you like?"

_What do you even do for someone like Shizuo? Buy him boxing gloves? Jeez…_

Shizuo sighed and leaned back into the booth seat. "How many times do I have to tell you not to worry about it before in goes in through that thick head?"

Her tea splashed a little bit as she sputtered, "T-t-thick head? Who are you saying has a thick head! I just wanted to do something nice, that's all! Maybe _you're_ the one with a thick head!" She huffed and set her tea down, crossing her arms and giving him a slight glare.

"All I meant by it was…" Shizuo began to try and explain, but her glare was still in place, aimed directly at his face. "… I like sweet things." He looked away, somewhat embarrassed as she let out a whoop.

"There! Now I can get you something sweet, now that I know!" Shizuo looked back, but her glare was gone, and she had a rather happy expression on her face.

No matter how small the debt was, she still didn't like being in the position to owe people things, no matter who it was. Suddenly, she remembered the good news she had to tell.

"Oh, guess what! I got a job, finally! That means you and Tom will be able to get more out of me than last time, ahaha…"

"Congratulations, I'm glad you found one. Mind if I ask where and what?" He really was glad – he didn't think this girl should have to live paycheck to paycheck, scrambling to make ends meet.

"Well, it was actually like a minute after you left. Some guy approached me and said he overheard that I needed one… It's a secretarial job in Shinjuku. And get this, I'll be making twice as much as I was at my old job!" She chirped, thanking Simon as he popped up and refilled her tea.

"That's… great, Nana."

Something about this didn't sit too well with him for some reason. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he'd have to say it was the fact it was in Shinjuku – where that _flea_ lived – and that she had been randomly approached. Especially a quick minute or so after he'd left… How long had she said she was searching for a job? It was just strange to him that one would just pop out of nowhere. However, looking at her excited face, he decided to just be happy for her.

"I was kinda suspicious at first… I mean, who gets an opportunity like that, you know?" She looked down shyly. "I actually accused him of being in human trafficking, but… he made some convincing points, I guess. What really got to me was the double pay… I could definitely use that."

Nana glanced back up at him, blinking. "Is something wrong?"

He didn't realize that he had a scowl on his place – just thinking about Izaya, it had probably appeared all on its own. "Nothing, just thinking about someone who lives in Shinjuku. That's all."

She simply nodded at him, and a few minutes later, they were out of Russia Sushi. He was walking her home back to her complex, when she broke the silence with a question.

"Is this person in Shinjuku a friend?" Instantly the scowl came back tenfold. The words _Izaya _and _friend_ didn't mesh well for him, and hell would freeze over before they did. No, not at all…

"Not at all." He gritted his teeth, then decided now would be an excellent time for a cigarette. He quickly lit one up, embracing the calming smoke flowing down to his lungs and back out his mouth.

"Oh… friends…" She muttered thoughtfully, "Are we… Are we friends, Shizuo?" He looked over at her, and could detect a slight blush on her face through the smoke. "To be honest, I don't think I've ever had any real 'friends'… so I don't really know what being one would consist of…"

"Friends?" He took a drag of his cigarette, mulling it over in his head.

She must've taken his silence as a negative, because she quickly waved her hands in front of her, head bowed, "Ah, never mind, I was just curious – Simon asked if we were, and then I just wondered if-"

Friends were someone you were on good terms with; he figured he was on good terms with her. A friend was a person who gave you support or reassurance in times of self-doubt, someone who you held some sort of personal regard for. Recalling everything that had happened that day, and the way she had forcibly tried to tell him not to blame himself, he supposed that they were. It seemed like something a friend would do.

"I think we're friends, Nana."

Her blabbering stopped, and she was silent as she stared at him owlishly. He gave her a smile and playfully ruffled the taupe colored hair on her head, and the smile grew a little bigger as he realized that he had one more person to be connected to – one less person out of everyone else who was terrified to death of him.

"Hey, hey! You're gonna mess up my hair, you big … you big old idiot!" She accused, but the grin on her face belied her words.

Had anyone else called him a 'big old idiot' he would've promptly punched them so hard their clothes flew off. Coming from her, though, he didn't even feel a bubble of that treacherous anger come to the surface.

"Friends, huh?" She continued, looking up at the darkening sky. "Well… _okay,_ I guess it's alright." She gave a glance to his face again, the grin still in place. She idly thought about how strange it was to be friends with one of the collectors that she'd have to repay her father's debt to.

Finally, they reached her apartment. They said their goodbyes, and Shizuo waited down the stairs until she had the door open. She waved at him, and again he gave her a sloppy salute and began walking back to the innermost city.

And again, she found herself staring at his back as he walked away.

"Nana!" She jumped up as her father stood in the doorway, about to go out.

"Tou-san! You nearly gave me a heart attack…" Her father blinked dumbly at her, looking from her to the retreating ex-bartender's back.

"Nana… you… are you selling your body to the collectors to repay Papa's debt?"

_What!_

His eyes teared up, "Nana… Papa has the best daughter ever!"

_Yeah, he's definitely drunk… hey, wait! If he thinks I am, and he's not looking worried at all, then…_

She glowered at him, "Tou-san! How could you even ask me that! And you don't even seem to care if I _was_!"

He shrunk back, "N-Nana-chan, it was a misunderstanding! Papa… uh…"

"And of course I'm not selling my body, you… you-!" She raised her fist to knock him a good one upside the head, when he darted under her raised arm and bolted down the stairs.

"Bye, Nana-chan! I'll see you later tonight! Oh, and Papa will probably be hungry by then…"

And with that, he was gone. Nana blankly stared at the road he'd disappeared down, and again questioned why she did so many things for that buffoon before letting out a shriek and slamming the door shut.

And Shizuo, on the other hand, was telling himself that it was stupid to think she'd accept a job from Izaya. Not that she knew who he was (at least, he didn't think she did), but he tended to give out vibes that any normal person could detect and label as _shady _and _suspicious._

Shaking his head, he figured that Nana seemed to be a much smarter girl then that, and pushed it out of his head as he lit up another cigarette.

* * *

Izaya could feel excitement bubble up as he peered out of his window, spotting Tsukamoto Nana head into the entrance of his building. Satisfied with having officially started the game, he sat down in his chair, the ever present smirk on his face as he tapped his foot to a nonsense beat. _What to make Nana-hime do on her first day? The possibilities will be endless in every turn of this game… how exciting!_

A few minutes later, he heard a tiny beep, and he guessed she had found the clock in device with her name card on it. Shortly after, his door opened and her tawny head poked in before the rest of her body followed.

"Hello, Orihara-san… thank you again-"

He waved her off in mid-statement. "Ah, nonsense, Nana-hime!" He grinned at her, "And please, just call me Izaya."

How great would it be for there to be a showdown between Shizu-chan and himself, with little Nana-hime yelling 'Izayaaaa!' on the sidelines? Surely, Shizu-chan hearing his little friend refer to his mortal enemy on such a personal basis would drive that monkey brain of his even crazier.

She seemed a little startled by his request. "O-okay, Izaya…" She glanced around the loft, and he knew that she was thinking about how nice his place was compared to what he was sure was her shabby little abode.

"Nana-hime, today has been a rather slow day so far… How about I show you your desk, then we play a game of chess?" He stroked his chin thoughtfully, the grin still on his face. "Perhaps we should get lunch afterwards?"

Izaya could get as much information as he wanted, sure, but he wanted to see more of this girl's action and personality. Never would it be for the reason to simply get to know her better. No, it would be more of getting to know what made her tick, and what he'd be able to do to halt her gears. She seemed to be squinting at him in a scrutinizing manner before she realized she was making such an unappealing face and then looked down.

"Well, you are the boss, Izaya…" _That's right!_ He thought happily,_ I am the boss, aren't I?_

He led her up the stairs to the loft where an unused desk laid collecting dust. "Here you go, Nana-hime. Now, you'll be doing all the things normal secretaries do… you know, answering phones and _simple_ things like that." In Izaya's mind, it was never too early to slyly insult her and see where it went. He could see her start to bristle at the insinuation that she was simple-minded somewhat before she shoved it down back inside of her.

"…Okay." He raised a brow and tilted his head towards her, and he could sense reluctance as she added his first name, "…Izaya." _This will be interesting, indeed!_

* * *

It was already noon by the time they ended their game of chess. She was unable to grasp the concept of it, and almost an hour and a half had been spent on trying to teach her the rules, pieces, and movements each one could make. To put it bluntly, her boss made her feel like an idiot. She swore that some of his comments had held a condescending undertone to them, and that alone made her miffed, new boss or not. As they exited the building, she stared down at her boots, a slight pout on her face. _Maybe I am simple… but so what!_

"Don't worry, Nana-hime. I've been playing for years, after all." He pat her head as she glanced up at him. "I'm sure there are geniuses that can't play chess, right?"

_I guess that's his way of saying I'm not an idiot, although it's a little strange he was able to read me that easily… _Actually, looking back, Nana had never been too good at concealing her emotions, so maybe it wasn't that weird at all.

"Maybe," she murmured. They were headed to some sushi place in Shinjuku so they could get lunch; rather, Izaya wanted lunch. Her stomach hadn't done what she was sure by now was its famous growl, but the thought of food was starting to slowly coax out her hunger. Finally, they reached a small, nondescript restaurant and she was startled when Izaya grabbed her and pulled her inside.

"Normally, I'd go to Russia Sushi. I just love their ootoro!" He exclaimed, and she gave him a look as he twirled around in the entryway. _I guess it can't hurt to try and have a real conversation… at least it's something I can relate to._

"I think their prosciutto sushi is really good, actually…" She offered, albeit it sounded a little meeker than she wanted it to.

Nana couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something about her boss made her feel somewhat edgy. He also made her feel like the majority of the things she said or asked was silly and downright foolish. Even though she felt borderline uncomfortable around him, he couldn't be all too bad. He had given her a job, after all…

"Ah, Simon must really like you for daring to eat that stuff!" He sniffed, nose up, "_I'd _never eat it though, personally."_Okay, maybe I was wrong…_

"But it's really good!" She protested, "Have you even tried it? You shouldn't discriminate against new things!" _He's even making my tastes sound stupid!_

"Of course I haven't tried it. It looks funny, Nana-hime!" He said as if it was the most obvious answer in the world as they were led to a booth.

"Well, I guess I wouldn't have tried it either," She started in an attempt to compromise verbally, "But my friend treated me there before, and it would've been rude not to eat all of it-"

"Friend, Nana-hime?" He asked, seeming to be genuinely interested despite having cut her off (which was another thing she was beginning to not really like about this man). "Could it be a boyfriend, I wonder?" _Why is my boss asking me something like that? Why are we even out to lunch together, anyway…_ At his words, she began to think of the friend she'd been talking about and turned pink at the thought, waving her hands in front of her as they slid into the booth.

"N-no! Just a friend…" She squirmed in her seat, making him grin further. _Shizuo? Boyfriend? We've only just become friends! Not to mention that he's a debt collector, and I'm the one who owes money…_

"It seems like you want more than that, judging by the color of pink you're turning!" He teased her as he lay his head on his fist.

"Hey, don't try to judge what I want just because I'm… I'm blushing!" She yelped, going on the defensive, "How the hell would you even know what I want, anyways!" _Ahh… crap! _Word vomit had again struck her, and she made a mental note to slap herself when she was alone and back to square one without a job.

"S…sorry!" She threw in, embarrassed at how lame it sounded.

But to her surprise, instead of scolding or firing her, he just chuckled at her and waved off her outburst. "Nana-hime, you sure are funny! Now, why don't you order something, hmm?"

She looked down at this, "It's okay, I'm not really hungry." Immediately after the words escaped her, so did the growl of her empty stomach. _On time, as usual,_ she thought glumly.

"It sure sounds like you are. What's wrong, Nana-hime? No money?" Her head spiked up with a slight glare in her eyes and he simply hummed behind the menu he'd brought up to his face, smirking behind it.

"I have money! I'm just… saving it for later tonight, actually." She said primly, which was actually the truth.

"What possibly for?" Izaya questioned. She had half a mind to tell him to mind his own business, but she'd already struck out once at keeping her feelings inside. Nana thought she might as well oblige him now to make up for it.

"Ah... well, that friend I mentioned earlier," She could swear his eyes lit up as she mentioned Shizuo, but quickly brushed it off as her being paranoid, having met him with the thought he was a weirdo anyway. "He was in the position where he didn't really have to buy me a meal or anything, really, but he did it anyway."

She found that a smile was starting to curl on her lips at the thought of the blond, "I really appreciated it, especially with his job and whatnot, since..." She left out the part of how they'd even met, deciding he didn't have to know any of that anyways, "...well, either way, I found out he likes sweet things, so I was going to... going to make him a cake." She mumbled the last part, somewhat embarrassed.

"A cake!" Izaya exclaimed, "Nana-hime, does this mean that if I buy you lunch you'll do something nice for me, too?" He was staring her down with those burgundy eyes, and for a second she thought she saw a predatory look in his eye... _Tsukamoto Nana, stop that right now!_ Even though she told herself that, she still thought that there was something off about him…

"Ah... sure?" She glanced down again, "Really, though, I'm alright. You've done enough by giving me a job, Izaya."

As if on cue, her stomach rumbled again and he laughed at her. "It seems that your stomach disagrees. Don't worry Nana-hime, it's just sushi!"

She nodded slowly. "I guess so..."

The rest of the work day was pretty uneventful for Nana besides Izaya's weird comments, and it was only when she was getting off at her stop at Ikebukuro that she realized she'd never even asked him what he did for a living_. I'll ask him tomorrow_, she thought. _I hope he doesn't think was rude of me not to ask, though... actually, he might just think I'm an idiot. I'm sure he already does..._

It was starting to get darker out, so Nana decided to go to the store now to buy the necessary materials that she would need for the cake. Once she was inside, she stood befuddled in an aisle, staring at the different icings they had displayed on the shelf.

Strawberry? Chocolate? Vanilla, butterscotch... She bit her lip. Nana didn't want to lather a cake in something he would think was disgusting. She didn't even know how her baking skills were, so the actual cake could possibly turn out to be completely inedible. The last time she'd baked anything, actually, had been with her mother.

She could still remember the laughter they shared in the kitchen, licking vanilla icing and batter out of the bowls and off of the utensils. Her mother would smile at her, leaning her head on top of her daughter's as she stirred the cake mixture, telling her she was the best baker in the whole wide world.

Then her father would come home from work, because one upon a time he was the man of the house and supported his family by working hard (she ignored the fact that he no longer supported anything but his bad habits as she stood there in the middle of the aisle, reveling in the memory), and then he'd scoop her up in his arms, and she'd dab icing on his nose, and they would laugh and be the happiest family on the street, in the world.

Mind made up, she reach up to grab the vanilla icing with determination, when her button popped off of her coat._Aw, really...?_ She frowned at the button, but picked it up and stowed it in her pocket and headed to pay for the items._Stupid coat!_ _Oh well, I can just sew it back on._ It wasn't the first time this had happened, so even if she wasn't a cooking expert, she was decent at sewing and patching up clothes. She pretty much had to be, since she had been wearing the same clothes for years.

She huffed and pushed it out of her mind. She had to be in a good mood! _The best food is made with a good attitude_, she thought. _Maybe vanilla brings up good things for Shizuo, too..._ She grimaced at her wallet after the transaction. She'd be sore for money until Izaya paid her, but it was worth it. Nana had her heart set on reciprocating the kindness Shizuo had shown her, even if it was only a poorly made cake.

* * *

Shizuo saw red as he heard a rip come from his sleeve, and he could feel the cool winter air get into his shirt from the open gap that was now there. Some hoodlum had challenged him, again, this time with a knife, and had tried to slash at him. He'd managed to avoid getting sliced with it, but his shirt hadn't been so lucky.

"My brother... gave me this shirt." His blond fringe covered his eyes and sunglasses, the latter of which he removed when he held his head up, sliding them into a pocket.

The thug wasn't looking so confident anymore as he trembled before the furious aura the blond man was giving off; the look alone in his eyes made him want to turn around and run for the hills.

"I'm- I'm really, really sorry!" The man all but squeaked, and Shizuo let out a growl before picking him up by the collar and tossing him to wherever.

"The hell are you starting violence for in the middle of a goddamn street for, anyway!" Shizuo didn't really care where he threw him; he'd ruined the shirt Kasuka had gotten for him, the asshole...

"Shizuo!"

The blond heard a distant voice call out to him, and turned around to see his newly acquired friend across the street, heading towards him. He noticed that she was holding a plastic bag at her side that he assumed had her dinner and the other hand was holding that same scruffy coat he'd always seen her wearing together.

She reached him and gave him a sheepish smile. "I saw someone flying through the air, and figured it could only be you... no offense!" He gave a grunt at this, still occupied with frowning at his sleeve.

She noticed his shirt sleeve as well and frowned. "Someone tried to cut you? Well, I guess he definitely deserved it! You could've gotten seriously hurt..." She justified for him. He figured he wouldn't bother telling her the knife probably wouldn't do anything – Along with super strength came a high tolerance for pain.

Nana was still smiling until she noticed he still seemed to be slightly pissed off. "I hope you don't mind that I came over, I just..."

"It's fine, Nana. I just wish there wasn't always some asshole trying to prove something... and rip my shirt." He stated dryly, taking out a cigarette and lighting it.

She put her hands behind her back and swung the bag back and forth as she swayed in her spot, "Well, I have something I think will make you feel better! If you're not busy, that is." She added hurriedly.

He wasn't; Tom had let him off about an hour ago, and he'd been wandering around for lack of anything else to do. Celty was on a job, and he didn't want to exactly want to hang around Shinra as he gushed about his stupid strength and blood samples..

"I'm free for the rest of the night," He told her, watching her face light up as he let out smoke. _I don't know why she's so excited that I'll hang around… I don't know many people who'd feel that way around me._

"Well, if you don't mind coming over for a while, I can sew up your sleeve for you. My button fell off, so I have to get my sewing kit out anyway..." She smiled again, "And I can give you something I'm sure you'll like, you just have to come over!"

"Something good?" He raised a brow, taking another drag. He hadn't meant anything by it, but she must've thought that by his raised brow he was thinking something a little more suggestive.

Nana turned pink as she realized how her words came out. "N-not that! And what are you looking so nonchalant for, anyway! You think I'm easy or something, Shizuo? 'Cause I'm not, so you can... you can not look at me like that! Jeez, you might be thinking something really perverted in there!" She cried out, embarrassed over her choice of words.

He lowered the offending brow before laying a hand on top of her head. "I wasn't thinking anything like that, Nana. And no, you don't seem to be the... easy type." She was a far cry from the women that had debt and would drape themselves over him seductively, offering certain services to lessen it while Tom stood off to the side with his head in his hand.

Nana's blush deepened further, "S-sorry! I..." Her shoulders slumped, "Sometimes I just say things like that even if I don't mean to... it just happens!" She stared at her boots.

_I can relate to that, _he thought as he removed his hand. "It's fine. And I could come over, I guess, although it might be a little strange if your father is there."

A scowl appeared on her face and she scrunched up her nose. "That bum? I'm sure he's out drinking somewhere, or doing god knows what..." She stated sullenly.

"Then let's go."

About a half hour later, they were settled into her small apartment, and Shizuo couldn't help but notice how shabby it was. _My place isn't a grand palace either, but it doesn't look like this_, he thought as he observed the water stains on the ceiling and the peeling wallpaper. She was setting out things from the bag she was carrying, and he quickly averted his eyes from the state of her apartment when she turned around so she wouldn't feel embarrassed about the state of it.

"You never told me what the something was, so what is it?"

He had to admit he was curious. People didn't do surprises for him, except one year when Shinra and Celty had thrown him a surprise birthday party... a party which pretty much included the three of them and Tom.

"Well," She fidgeted with her hands, "You said you like sweet things, so I thought I'd bake you a cake!" She held up a tub of icing. "I hope you like vanilla!"

He observed her as she bustled around her tiny kitchen, mixing this and that. Soon enough, she was done mixing the batter and had put it into the oven. She turned to him, brushing her hair away from her face.

"Okay, it should be done in…"

Nana stopped as she heard him chuckle. "What? What is it!"

He unfolded his long legs from where he'd been sitting and watching on her couch before walking up to her, reaching for her face. While she'd brushed her hair away, she'd gotten batter on her nose, and apparently hadn't noticed as she stared at him, wide eyed at his closeness.

"S-Shizuo?" She stuttered, her brown eyes looking confused as he swiped up the mixture from her nose.

"Sorry, you had batter on your nose." Shizuo apologized; _I hope I didn't scare her, coming up to her like that. _As far as he knew, females were supposed to feel threatened when a brute like him approached them so close. However, Nana must not have been one of those people, seeing as she invited him in.

He eyed his finger before licking it clean, ignoring the blush that bloomed anew on her face.

"Don't worry, vanilla's good."


	4. four

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, you beautiful people! I hope you enjoy. :)

I don't own Durarara!

* * *

**chapter four ; when we meet again ...**

Nana hastily turned around to face the oven, face burning with a feeling she couldn't quite name. A high pitched giggle found its way out of her throat nervously as she grabbed a small timer and wound it up to the correct time, saying, "I'm glad you l-like vanilla too, Shizuo!"

Why did she seem so... embarrassed? _I don't even know if that's what it is... _She began to babble nervously, "Vanilla's always been my favorite, you know, although I still like chocolate-" She put the timer down on the counter before moving to the sink to wash the dishes, a blush still remaining on her face.

"Me and my mom, we used to bake all the time. I think that my sweets were a lot better then, since I had her help... she made the best desserts ever, really!" A smile appeared on her face as she scrubbed at the bowl she'd used for the batter.

Shizuo stood there eyeing her curiously. Was it just him, or had she moved away really fast? As she continued chattering on, he could hear the fondness she had for her mother in the way she spoke about her, and could see it in her face as he moved to lean on the counter; though he couldn't help but give a thought as to where she was now, and so he asked her, "Where's your mother now?"

Her face fell, but then became blank. He realized only after the words came out and the vigorous rhythm she had while washing the dishes stopped that it really wasn't of his business, but then again, he had never been the best at thinking before speaking - or doing, for that matter.

"She, ah..." Nana's face didn't change as she spoke, she just slowly resumed scrubbing a dish as her eyes focused on on the running water. "I don't know where she is. She might still still live in Ikebukuro... she left some years ago." The blond didn't know what that must feel like. He'd had loving parents, and he also had a sibling that loved him, even if you couldn't tell by his monotone voice or face.

"I'm sorry. I don't really know why I asked." Shizuo rubbed the back of his blond head. _Kasuka's right, I really do need to learn to constrain myself sometimes..._

"It's okay! It's not that big of a deal, it happens to a lot of people, you know..." She gave him what he figured was supposed to be a reassuring look, with a smile on her lips and eyes crinkled up. Despite the upward curve of her mouth, he only got the feeling her eyes were shut for a different reason.

The small girl finished washing the dishes and laid them into a drying rack before taking off the apron and turning to him. "Now, why don't I fix up your sleeve as best as I can? We'll have some time before the cake is done, anyway."

He nodded before following her after she gestured for him to sit on the couch. "Now, this isn't going to be a professional job or anything, but at least you won't feel as chilly walking home!" She chuckled cheerfully, and again he had the feeling it was forced.

"I appreciate it, Nana." He diverted his eyes from her as she opened up a small closet, grabbing the kit that lay on the top shelf.

"No problem! It's the least I can do." She sat down next to him on the couch, propping a pillow underneath his arm. "Now, stretch out your arm, but be really still! I don't want to prick you..." Nana began to lace a white thread through the tiny loop on the needle before leaning over his outstretched arm.

Her face was the perfect picture of concentration as she squinted at the seams, the tip of her tongue poking out a bit in her focus. They said nothing to each other as she sewed up the rip, and Shizuo found that he kept glancing at her, Nana being none the wiser. _She has really tiny hands... _The only sound throughout the house was the sound of the timer ticking away.

After ten minutes or so, she leaned back and patted his arm lightly. "Good as new! Well, kind of."

"Thanks. This was a present from my brother, so I'm glad you could do something about it."

"You have a brother?" she questioned, head tilted in a curious manner.

"Yeah. He's younger than me, but... he's always been more mature than me. Pretty, too." Well, Shizuo couldn't be blamed for being proud of his little brother; and really, pretty was the only way to describe his looks. He smiled at the thought of his brother and made a mental note to give him a call later - it had been too long since they had both talked, mostly due to Kasuka's busy schedule. "He's really talented," he added.

"Well, it sounds like you really love him! I'm sure he's happy to have an older brother like you."

Shizuo let out a quiet snort at her words; yeah, he loved Kasuka, but he felt like he was probably an uncouth burden to him at times. At least, all the times except when he'd been about to beat up a talent scout who had turned to the younger brother instead after being saved by him. Kasuka knew him best, out of anyone he stayed in touch with.

"Yeah, I hope so." They were silent for a beat before Nana reached for the remote, turning on her small TV. Ironically enough, the show displayed was a re-run of _Vampire Ninja Carmilla Saizou_, one of his brother's favorite and first roles.

"Ah, isn't that Hanejima Yuuhei? I've always thought he was a good actor... even though I don't get to see movies a lot."

Shizuo grunted in agreement, paying sole attention to the unemotional face of his younger brother as he engaged in a fiery battle of some sort. It was kind of nice; it was quiet and peaceful in the small apartment, and the sweet scent of the baking cake quickly filled it up, relaxing him as Nana sat curled up next to him watching his brother. The mood he was in now was rare; for him, it seemed to be something he only attained when he was with Celty; the only other 'monster' who understood him.

Some time went by before Nana realized something. "Hey," she said again, turning to him, "You guys have the same eyes, you know..." She studied him with her head tilted again, fingers creating a box in front of her face to get a separated look at them.

"You do!" She said in a matter of fact manner, and it was his turn to stare at her curiously. The only other person who said that they looked alike was Tom - not even his own parents thought their children held any resemblence to each other.

"You think so?"

She nodded vehemently, "They're the same shade and everything!" He blinked at her before smiling, and she was about to jokingly ask him if they were related when the timer let out a ding.

"Ah, it's done! It smells so good!" She jumped up, excitedly opening the oven to reveal a soft, golden cake, and she took it out to cool. "All I have left to do now is frost it! That's the best part, if you ask me..." She hummed under her breath as she began spreading the rich icing on the cake, and a few minutes later he found a small plate with a huge slice on it and a glass of milk in his face.

"I hope you like it!" She said with a slight blush on her face, but Shizuo just brushed it off as she'd gotten hot while handling the cake, or something.

She eagerly watched him, hands clasped below her chin as he took a bite. "It's very good. Really sweet, that's how I like it..." It actually was quite good. It was nothing fancy, and there were no cream filled layers or fruit piled on top of it, but the simple taste of it was more than good enough for him as he continued eating.

"I'm glad! At least I've somewhat repayed you for helping me out..." She stated shyly, tugging at the ends of her hair. Suddenly, his cell started vibrating and ringing loudly in his pocket, and he set down the cake to answer the call, which was from Tom.

"Yo, Tom-san."

"Shizuo, I know I let you off for the rest of the day, but maybe you could come and help me out tonight? Got a couple of the rotten ones on the list tonight."

"Yeah. Give me twenty minutes." After an affirmative from the other end, Shizuo hung up and grabbed the plate he'd set down, taking another bite and chugging the milk before standing.

"I've gotten called into work. Sorry, Nana..." And he was sorry, because he rather like the environment with nothing there to piss him off, watching his brother and eating cake next to someone he now labeled 'friend'. Now he'd have to go work again, listening to more of people's half-assed stories and excuses, and ruin the calm streak he was currently having.

"It's okay!" She hurriedly assured him, "Work is an important thing, after all!" She bustled back into the kitchen, telling him to wait a minute before coming back with the rest of the cake wrapped up for him to take. "Please take it with you?"

"Are you sure?" Cake or not, it was still food, and he knew it was something she didn't get a lot of; he thought she might be better off with it, seeing as it was still something that would fill up her stomach. "You made it, after all."

She frowned, "You don't wanna take it, Shizuo? I did make it, but I made it for you, you know! I just wanted to try and do something nice!" A slight glare entered her gaze as she stared him down as menacingly as she could.

She shoved the cake closer to him. "If you don't take it, I'll be forced to kick your butt! Don't think I won't!" He scratched the side of his head at the mental image of the scrawny girl in front of him trying to 'kick his butt'.

"But..." For once, his brain kicked in, and he figured he shouldn't tell her why he didn't want to take it. One thing he'd learned about her was that she still had pride, even in her circumstances. "... alright." He grudgingly (but not too remorsefully, because it did taste really good) accepted it, and the smile flashed back on her face like it never went away in the first place.

"Good!" Nana had opened the door for him, but as he stopped at the frame to thank her again, she suddenly reached up and hugged him; or at least tried to, seeing as her head didn't even reach his shoulders and her arms were wrapped more around his mid-section.

"Tell Tom-san that I'll have the next payment for the next time he comes, okay? And if you want, he can have some of the cake, too!" He heard her say, her voice slightly muffled from being against his chest.

Awkwardly, he raised an arm and patted her on the back uneasily. Even though he wasn't angry, he felt a bit worried that he would somehow break the waifish girl holding onto him. _It does feel nice_, he had to admit to himself. He hadn't been touched like this, been given a simple a hug by someone in far too long, and his fingers twitched around the shoulder that his arm was reaching around to, itching to hug her back, just to see how it would feel after so long.

In the end, he ended up dropping his wavering arm from around her skinny shoulders, and gave her a pat on the head. "Thanks for the cake. And the sleeve, too..." Her face was red again, but he couldn't think of why it would be - did he smell or something? Well, he knew cigarettes didn't exactly leave someone smelling like rose petals...

"Anytime! I'll see you later, okay?" He nodded and headed outside and down the stairs, and Nana stood in the doorway watching him leave before closing the door.

The night everything turned for the worse seemed to be quite typical, as a matter of fact. As usual, Daisuke had stumbled in, drunk off his ass, begging Nana to make him some food; which of course, they didn't have. Grumbling to herself about her useless father once again, she reluctantly threw on her coat and boots to head to the 24/7 convenience store.

Things had gotten slightly better on her part, though - she had been working with Izaya for the past week, and had somewhat gotten over his... strangeness. He had told her he was a salesman; when she asked him what he sold, the dark haired young man had just smiled and said, "It's a secret. Maybe I'll tell you one day, Nana-hime..." And even though she was still a tad bit suspicious of him, there was nothing to be suspected about her paycheck.

Like he promised, he paid her double of what she used to make; she had been able to give Tom more than she had last time, which was enough to appease both her and him. Nana hadn't seen Shizuo with the dreadlocked man when he came to her house, though, and she ignored the way her heart fell a little bit at the lack of his presence. She shivered in the cool, dark night as the wind chilled her down to the very bone and again wished for a better coat. It was also quiet out, mostly, which she found a little disconcerting since it was Ikebukuro. However, it was rather late at almost one in the morning, and so the girl guessed it wasn't too un-normal. She made it into the convenience store and back out with any problem; it was only til she'd reached the first alley on her way back that someone's arm shot out and yanked her into it.

* * *

Shizuo lit up a cigarette as his phone beeped, signaling that he'd recieved a text message. He debated not bothering with it; he was having an unusual moment of peace in the park. It was devoid of life because of the time, but he was grateful for it anyway. But if there wasn't anyone in the park, that meant most people were sleeping... so who'd be texting him? Leaning back further on the park bench and taking a drag of his cigarette, he flicked his phone open. He'd thought it might've been Tom, or Celty; instead, the little message box displayed a number that he didn't know. Brown eyes narrowed at the screen - he never gave out his number, so who the hell could it be?

Figuring it might be a wrong number, he selected it, just to see a few words above an attached picture link. It read, 'check the convenience store by her house'; at least, thats what he assumed it said. Whoever had sent him this had horrible grammar... and what the hell were they even talking about? Convenience store? Who was 'her?' He recieved another text from the same number, and he read it only to be just as confused as he was by the first one.

The new one read, 'this happened because of you', and again had the same shitty spelling. Now curious, he went back to the first message, clicked on the picture link, and waited for it to download itself to his phone. The screen went dark; the picture must've been taken outside, because he couldn't see anything except-

It took a few seconds for the picture to register, but once it did, he had clamped his hand around the phone so tightly that it broke, and the pieces clattered lightly to the ground. It didn't matter; the picture he'd just seen - that horrible, horrible picture had engraved itself into his mind's eye, and he could already feel himself trembling with pure, unadulterated rage. His fist came smashing down onto the bench he was sitting on, splitting it as he stood up.

The picture was of Nana. He was already running towards her house, his cigarette long forgotten on the ground from when he'd dropped it out of shock after seeing that terrible image. It was Nana, alright; she had been face down, but he could tell because the figure had long, taupe hair and scrawny limbs sprawled out on the pavement. The picture showed him that her light hair had dark spots seeping through it; blood.

Her arm was twisted at such an unnatural angle, an angle that arms just weren't supposed to- The words '_damn it damn it damn it_' repeated themselves in his head in a loop as he pushed his long legs to go as fast as they possibly could to the corner store that he knew was right near her house. He tried his best to keep from thinking about that picture, but it kept creeping into his mind, creeping like the redness that was starting to sidle its way into the edges of his vision. '_This happened because of you_', the text had said. It had to have been someone he'd mindlessly pulverized without a second thought, someone who was obviously now trying to get back at him.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally reached the store. Bright lights were on in the front, but the picture had been dark, which meant it had to be in an alley of some sort - he dashed into the alley right next to it and felt the blood in his veins get so unbearably hot that it felt like magma was running through his body.

She was still in the same position as she'd been in the picture. Her legs were badly bruised and scraped, and her arms weren't in any better condition. He forced himself to be gentle as rolled her over, although it was difficult because all he wanted to do right now was find whoever the fuck had done this to her and send them into the next lifetime. The first thing he noticed was her face.

Her eyes were closed, but one was so swollen that it seemed like she was clenching it shut. It was already starting to turn a dark, moody purple. The blond could feel something warm dribbling onto the hand that he was cradling her head with, and god he wished he hadn't been right about those dark spots being blood; because that's what it was. Warm and sticky and red and _Nana's_.

"Nana! Nana! Hey, wake up!" Shizuo shouted, concern and urgency laced together in his voice. He shook her a little bit, still trying his best to not jostle her too roughly. "_Nana_!" Her eyes flickered underneath her lids, and they slowly opened. She peered at him through half lidded eyes, one moreso than the other and turned her head to face him slowly.

"S... Shi-" More blood bubbled up from between her lips when she tried speaking, and it slid down her cheek as her eyes fluttered closed again. She let out a faint gargling sound as more blood came up. He could tell she was just barely hanging onto consciousness, and - _Goddamnit, shit_- He swiftly stood up with her in his arms, and she felt so light and was so still that it felt like she almost wasn't there in his arms, wasn't even alive. Mind racing and pulsing with anger and confusion, he started running again to the one person he knew could help him, had to help him in this situation.

* * *

An urgent, sudden banging on Shinra's door startled him so badly that his mug wavered in his hand, and he cried out as he spilled scalding coffee onto his pristine white labcoat. The bangs started again, even louder, and as he called out, "Just a sec-" he heard the door slam open. Now alarmed since someone had just broken his door in, he skidded to the door only to see Shizuo, panting and heaving with something in his arms. Squinting his eyes, he realized it was a girl, judging by the long hair and skinny legs.

"Shizuo? What's wrong? And who is that?" He tsked. "What'd you do now, Shizuo-?" He took a guess and figured Shizuo had lost his temper, again_._ In a few long strides, Shizuo had reached him and practically thrust the tiny body he was holding out to Shinra.

"Help her. _Now_." The tone in his voice didn't leave any room for arguing, and there was a look of pure murder simmering behind his brown eyes.

_Her_? he wondered. "Ah... go lay her down on the couch, okay? I'll get my supplies..."

The bodyguard stomped to the couch before laying her down, and Shinra turned away to close the door as best as he could and get his medical bag. Once he returned, he found that Shizuo hadn't moved from her side, staring at her intently.

"Shizuo, you need to let me get a look at her..." Shinra started as calmly as he could in case Shizuo decided he wanted to take his anger out on the nearest unwounded person.

Without a word, Shizuo moved aside, instead crouching by her legs, and held his head in one of his hands. Shinra was starting to get concerned some time later, when he was almost done cleaning her up and examining her; Shizuo hadn't said a word since he'd barged in, alternating from clutching his head to looking at the injured girl, then back to holding his head again.

The bespectacled young man kept his thoughts to himself as he cut her shirt open to see what her torso looked like. Whatever happened, she didn't get off easy. The girl's pale skin was mottled with bruises and scrapes, and as he felt along her ribs, he could already tell that some were probably broken - She was so thin that he might have even been able to tell just by looking at her. He worked his way upwards, and the quiet in the apartment was so thick with tension from Shizuo alone that he could cut it with his scalpel.

A little while later, Shinra stood up as Shizuo's eyes darted to him, but he remained crouching next to her.

"Well... she's in pretty bad shape."

"I know!" The blond growled, "Fix her. Do something!" Shinra gulped and turned his gaze to the tiny body laying on his couch, trying to refrain from making a comment about how her blood was staining his nice couch.

"I will, I will! Please relax, Shizuo..." The blond sprung to his feet and grabbed Shinra by his coat, and the doctor found Shizuo's face unnervingly close to his.

"_Just fucking do it_, Shinra!" he barked, narrowed eyes flashing dangerously.

_Really, he can be so unreasonable sometimes..._"I can't 'fix her' if you're going to keep a hold on me like this." Shinra said as he gulped, and Shizuo must've seen the validation in his statement because he released him to once again sit by her. Not wanting to be told twice, he set to work and began patching her up.

More time passed until it was almost three thirty in the morning, and the only thing that broke the silence that permeated the room was the door swinging open, and Celty appeared in the living room.

"Ah, Celty! Welcome home, my honey!" Shinra exclaimed excitedly, distracted from finishing up on the girl, until he got a rough knock on the head from the blond next to him.

"Concentrate!" He snapped, then he glanced at Celty, giving her a tired, "Yo." The doctor whimpered before turning back to the girl.

Celty came closer as she typed on her PDA, and decided to ask Shizuo instead of Shinra, figuring Shinra would just get smacked around if he didn't focus.

[What happened?]

His eyes flickered to the screen, then back to the shallowly breathing body on the couch.

"I..." He started off hoarsely, then closed his mouth again. "I don't exactly know. But when I do find out..." His hands tightened until they were fists, "When I find out, there's going to be hell to pay."

* * *

Bright sunlight streamed in, making Nana squint as she blinked rapidly to adjust her eyes. The first thing she did was try to sit up once she realized the ceiling she was staring at didn't have the familiar water stains; obviously, she wasn't at home. But once she tried to move her arms to support herself so she could sit upright, pain shot through her arm and she flopped back down on the couch, wincing.

_Why does my arm hurt so bad? Actually... _She tried moving her legs and discovered that they were sore, _My whole body kinda hurts... What happened?_ Staring up at the unrecognizable ceiling, she thought back on what the hell she'd gotten into, and - ...oh.

_She let out a yelp, startled as she was flung against the wall. There were four men, all bigger than she was standing around her, leering._

_"W-what do you want? If it's money, then you're trying for the wrong person!"_

_The one closest to her swept behind her, grabbing her arms. "Who said anything about money?" He chuckled. "And you're the person we've been looking for, alright. The girl that we've seen hanging around Heiwajima Shizuo. You two seem kinda close, aren't you?" She struggled with futile effort as he continued, "I don't have a clue why, though. He's a fucking monster!"_

_"He's not a monster!" She cried out, trying to defend the blond. "He's a good person-"_

_They laughed at her words, "Your _good person_ beat the shit out of a lot of our friends, girlie. They're all in the hospital, and probably will be for a while... which is why we thought we'd return the favor!" Realization at their intentions dawned on her, and she struggled even more._

_"I wonder how Heiwajima would feel if his little friend got put in there, too?" She shot her leg out behind her, praying to get a lucky hit in - she did, judging by the groan of pain, and he let go for an instant to cradle his groin. She darted forward, adrenaline pushing her fast to the mouth of the alleyway. She was so close, she'd get out and run like she'd never ran before to her house - Just as she was almost in the clear, her head snapped back as her long hair was grabbed, and she found herself being drug back into the dark._

_"That fucking bitch... I want the first hit!"_

_Her eyes went wide as the one she'd kicked stomped his foot into her stomach, once, twice. She coughed and felt something warm leaking down the side of her face as she curled into herself to try to protect herself from the blows. She was pulled up by her hair again, and one of them delivered a punch to her face. She practically drooled more blood out, gasping as they continued their unrelenting hits. Nana let out a blood curdling scream as one of them grabbed her arm, twisting it farther and farther -_

Nana frowned as it started coming back to her, until she heard footsteps lightly treading towards her. She closed her eyes quickly, pretending to be asleep still; who knew where she was? For all she knew, she could be at one of her attacker's houses... The footsteps stopped in front of the couch she was laying on, but she couldn't detect the sounds of breathing coming from whoever was near her, which struck her as odd.

What she did hear, though, was the slight sound of buttons being pressed in, like someone was texting on a phone. She dared to open her eyes and saw a bright yellow and blue helmet, with something like cat ears on top of it and a tight, black bodysuit. The figure was obviously female, and she felt a little bit reassured by that fact - and well, she wanted answers.

Nana kept quietly staring at the dark figure until they looked up from the device in their hands, only to look back down and type something hastily. A PDA was shoved into her face, and she narrowed her eyes to focus on the small text.

[How are you feeling?]

Nana opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out but a scratchy noise. Her throat was sore, too, most likely from her screaming her lungs out.

[Hold on, I'll get you a glass of water! I'll tell Shizuo you're awake now, too.]

She gave the figure a questioning glance even as they walked away. _She knows Shizuo? I'm so confused... _Like the woman said - or rather, texted, she found a glass of water with a straw in front of her, the woman holding the straw towards her mouth since she couldn't sit up. She sipped at the water greedily, relieved as she felt the cool water soothe her throat. The stranger set down the glass and propped her against a pillow.

"Um, thank you... but who are you? And where am I? What time is it? Actually, I don't even know what day it is..." The woman texted some more on her phone as she shot off another question, "And you know Shizuo?"

[My name is Celty, I'm a friend of Shizuo's. It's 10:24 on Monday morning. You're at mine and my roommate's place right now.]

Nana nodded thoughtfully, until she realized something. _I have... oh, man! I have work today! How am I even going to get there? I'll have to call Izaya..._

She could hear the woman typing again as she thought about what the hell she was going to tell her boss. She had only been working for him for a week now, and she was already going to have to call out; if he allowed it, that is, and didn't fire her.

"Who brought me here? Ah, I hurt all over..." Her fingers curled, and she realized her arm was in a cast._ I broke my arm, too?_

The woman, Celty went back to her phone then displayed a message to her. [Shizuo is the one who brought you here... speaking of which, I let him know you're up now. He'll be really relieved, I bet.]

_Well, this Celty seems nice, at least... I wonder why she won't talk, though. Maybe she's mute? And why is she wearing a helmet? _"Thanks, Celty-san." She returned her eyes to the ceiling, keeping her curiosity inside.

[Just rest, okay? I'm sure Shizuo will be here as soon as he can.] Celty had given Shizuo an old phone of hers, since he had apparently broken his; he had made her promise him that as soon as she woke up, she'd let him know about it.

The sudden ringing of Nana's cell made her jump, and she spied it ringing on the coffee table, moving slightly from the vibrations. "Could you please hand that to me?"

The woman obliged, and Nana glanced at the caller ID before answering it. _Ahh... Izaya's calling me. _She put the call on speaker since she couldn't quite hold the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?"

_"Nana-hime~ do you know what time it is?"_ Izaya's voice floated through the phone, and she didn't notice Celty's head swivel towards her in recognition.

She gulped, "I... I know I'm late, I'm really sorry! It's kind of a long story..." She cursed herself as soon as the words left her mouth. _It sounds so cliche...!_

_"Well, you can explain it to me all you want when you get here; I'm sure you're on your way, right, Nana-hime?"_

"Ah... Actually... I can't really move right now, Izaya... I'm actually at someone's house. Celty-san's-"

_"Celty?"_ His voice sounded excited, and she blinked in surprise. Did Izaya know her? _"Nana-hime, you never fail to amuse me... you'll stay put, won't you?"_ And with that, the call was disconnected. She blinked again, and a PDA was once put in front of her face.

[How do you know Izaya?]

"He's my boss... I wonder why he hung up, though?"

[And you're Shizuo's friend, too?]

"Yes... why? Is something the matter?" Nana inquired, and the woman shook her head quickly.

[No! Nothing is wrong! Just rest, Tsukamoto-san!] She stared at Celty for a few more seconds, getting the feeling that something was amiss, but just nodded and settled down again. She had begun to doze off, nodding in and out for the next twenty minutes when a voice startled her out of her light sleep.

"Oh my, Nana-hime! Whatever happened to you?" Her eyes snapped open, only to come face to face with her boss' dark burgundy ones. He was bent at the waist with his hands on his knees, looking down at her, the corners of his lips tilting upwards.

"I-Izaya! I'm sorry I couldn't make it in, today - I know I haven't even been working for you that long..."

"Well, judging from the state of you, I suppose you can't be blamed, now can you?"

"I suppose not... ah, how do you...?" How did he know where this was? She felt hurt head beginning to hurt a little more.

"Celty and I are acquaintances, you see," He answered as if she'd vocalized the full question, "Really though, Nana-hime, you look quite dreadful. Care to tell me what happened?"

"I got into some trouble with some thugs..." She squirmed as much as she could without causing herself anymore pain, "I think... I think they did it because of my friend-"

"Your friend? Could this be the one we talked about the other day?" He questioned her, practically leaning over so close that she felt heat rise to her cheeks. She suddenly noticed Celty's absence, and she couldn't help but wonder where she had gone.

"Y-yes..." She mumbled, looking up at him with wide eyes - well, one.

Izaya opened his mouth to say something when the door opened again, and Nana discovered where Celty had gone. Shizuo was standing at the entrance to the living room, a parcel in his slackening hand with wide eyes as he took in the sight of Nana and Izaya, the latter still leaning dangerously close to her. The slim woman was trying to wave her PDA in the blond's face, and before Nana could even greet him, he'd charged towards them.

A second later, Izaya was gripped up against the wall by his throat, but he wore a grin instead of any expression of fear.

"Ah, Shizu-chan! What a lovely surprise!" He exclaimed, eyes dancing with amusement. Nana could only gape at the unfolding events, and Celty stood behind the couch, clearly having given up on making Shizuo read the 'Be calm' message she was trying to show him.

"You fucking flea... why the hell are you here!" He boomed angrily, "And why the hell were you so damn close to her!" He growled, his hand tightening around the smaller man's throat. Izaya began to sputter the tiniest bit from the intense grip Shizuo had on his throat, smile still in place, and that was when Nana decided it was time to at least try to intervene and figure out what was going on.

"Hey..." She tried, but neither seemed to hear her.

"You had something to do with this, didn't you? Izaya!" Shizuo accused, and Izaya chuckled at him.

"... hey?"

"So primitive, Shizu-chan! You accuse me just because you want me to be the perpetrator - just so you'll have another reason to hate me. Isn't that right?"

"Please, stop-"

"Shut the hell up! I'm fucking accusing you because that's what you do! You meddle in people's lives and try your best to ruin them!"

"Haha! Shizu-chan, I'm sure you realized that Nana-hime's only like that because someone wanted to get back at you." He couldn't think of anything to say to that; unfortunately, Izaya did have a point.

In a low enough voice that only the blond could hear, he continued, "Although, I did get a request for your phone number... Oh, don't give me that look, Shizu-chan. Do you know how easy it is for me to find out someone's cell number?" He grinned wider like the cat who caught the canary. "Could it have something to do with poor Nana-hime? I wonder..."

"_Be quiet!_" Nana shouted loudly, glad to have their attention finally as they turned towards her. "And let go of him, Shizuo!" She cried out; honestly, she didn't need her friend choking her boss, especially when she couldn't do anything but lay on the couch like a bump on a log.

"You don't understand, Nana." Shizuo's eyes burned with anger, "This guy here's a total piece of-"

"That guy is my boss, and gave me a job when no one else would!" She screeched, and missed the shock playing across Shizuo's face as she fell into a coughing fit from yelling. Celty held up the glass of water to her again as all was quiet for a total of 3 seconds, and the blond's hand slowly unclenched and fell at his side as he stared at the girl.

"...Boss?" He echoed. He sincerely hoped he had misheard her.

"Nana-hime's telling the truth, you know." Izaya piped up, and Shizuo's head snapped back to his, teeth gritted.

"You couldn't find a job anywhere, right, Nana-hime?" Izaya shrugged nonchalantly. "It seemed like she was in quite the financial pinch, Shizu-chan, so I decided to help her out!" He giggled, raising a hand to laugh behind his mouth snidely.

"Now she works for me, and she'll do _whatever _I tell her to-"

Nana was about to protest against how Izaya was making her sound like a mindless drone, when Shizuo roared and his fist went flying towards Izaya's face. The dark haired man dodged it at the very last second, and Shizuo's fist met nothing but air. Celty was back in action again, waving wildly and trying to get them to stop.

"Don't go near her, flea, or I swear I'll-"

"Technically, she comes to me~!"

"Shizuo!" Nana cried out, eyes narrowed in worry as she struggled to sit up. "Please - please, stop! This is... this is all a little too much right now!"

She was in so much pain, she was in someone else's house, she didn't know how her father was doing, or if he even noticed she was missing - Now her boss had just been about to get the punch of his life from Shizuo, and damn it, she was tired! The thought of going to the hospital was laughable, too - Nana would never be able to pay the hospital bills. She could barely move, so how was she going to be able to work? If she couldn't work, she wouldn't be able to make money, and if she couldn't make money... The stress of the past and occurring events built up on her, and she felt wetness slide down her cheeks, idly realizing they were frustrated tears as her vision got blurry around the edges.

"Tsk tsk, Shizu-chan! You made her cry!" Shizuo's fist twitched, and he wanted nothing more than to give him in a good one right in the nose, but the sounds of Nana sniffling pathetically made him try his best to hold it back.

Celty approached them, holding up the PDA to Izaya. [I think you should go.] Izaya read it and grinned.

"I guess so. However, I'll be back to make sure my precious little subordinate is doing alright~ She does help me out a lot at work, you know..." He waltzed towards the door, but not before stopping in front of the couch.

"I'll bring you some ootoro next time I come around, Nana-hime! I'll even feed it to you!" A low grumble was starting to emanate from Shizuo's throat, and Izaya smirked over his shoulder at the seething blond.

"Bye bye, Shizu-chan. See you next time!" He threw a lazy wave, walking out of the apartment with a quiet click of the still broken door.

* * *

Celty had silently handed the teary-eyed girl a tissue, looking from her to Shizuo. She typed up another message, walking up to him - he hadn't moved from where he'd been gripping up Izaya yet, knowing if he did he'd just go after him as if his fist and Izaya's head were magnetically attracted to each other. Also, he was ashamed that Izaya had been right with two of his statements; it _was _his fault she was like that, and he _had_ made her cry because of his actions. _Shit_...

[I'm going to go out for a ride. Will you two be alright? Shinra should be home soon, he went out to restock his supplies...]

Shizuo grunted an affirmative, and Celty spared another glance at them before nodding and heading out as well.

Nana hadn't said anything and just laid there, slightly propped against a pillow and clutching the tissue to her eyes with her good arm. He stood there awkwardly - he had no idea what to do, and he certainly didn't know how to deal with crying females. He remembered the parcel of sushi he'd brought her from Russia Sushi, and quietly walked over to the dropped package to pick it up and back to the couch, sitting next to her legs.

"...Here. I thought you might be hungry." He placed it in her lap, looking away. Nana let out a hiccup, and he rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry. I just - you don't know how much of a scumbag that bastard is..." Still no answer, just another few hiccups. "I hate violence, I really do. I just can't control myself sometimes, especially when it comes to that-"

"Shizuo." She murmured quietly, lowering down the tissue. He felt horrible as her wet eyes met his, and she sat up a little more, wincing as she did. Her uninjured arm reached for his fisted hand that laid next to her leg, and she put her hand on top of it, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you... I didn't mean to, I'm just... stressed out and frustrated..." He stared at her tiny hand covering his much larger one with furrowed brows.

He swallowed, "Why are you apologizing?" His eyes stayed glued to their hands. "It's my fault that you're like... like this."

Shizuo should've never gone to the park that night. He should've never bought her food, and he certainly should've never let her become his friend. She was a debt client, for God's sake... Let his lonely yearnings for company be damned, he'd have himself be that way if it meant she hadn't been laying bloodied and injured in a dark alley after getting pummeled like a punching bag until those assholes decided they were through.

"You really like beating yourself up, huh?" Nana said in a feeble attempt at being humorous, and she squeezed his hand a little harder.

His eyes finally strayed from their hands to her face, and he knew that the guilt was obvious in his eyes; he'd never been good at hiding how he felt. His emotions had been off kilter the moment he'd stepped in and saw Izaya leaning so goddamn close to her, looking all the part of the big bad wolf about to gobble up Little Red Riding Hood. At least, that's how it had looked to him. And he was her boss - who knew what the hell he made her do? He could feel rage come up to the surface again, and he struggled to push it down.

"What happened that night, Nana?"

He had to know - a tiny part of him was desperately hoping that he was wrong, it was just a couple of punks that were bored and looking to start trouble, but the texts he'd recieved on his now broken cell stood testament that he was hoping for nothing.

Her brown eyes searched his, and she removed her hand to grasp the parcel. Shizuo tried to ignore how nice her hand had felt grabbing his and struggled with the impulse to hold her little hand. "Thank you for the food... I might need a little help eating it, though." She was obviously trying to change the subject.

"Nana..."

She smiled at him, eyes crinkling up. "I hate to ask you, but._.. _uh... do you think you could feed me?" Nana looked down sheepishly, then back at him.

She blushed a little as Shizuo continued to stare her down._ She's doing it again - trying not to make me feel as guilty as I know am_. Nana looked away and pushed the box towards him, and he sighed and opened it up, grabbing the pair of chopsticks to comply. The flea had said something about giving out his phone number... which meant Izaya knew who it was who had done this to her.

He stared at the sushi. _Fuck. I really don't want to talk to Izaya, but that person had to have been the one behind this. He'll probably try to make me beg, the bastard..._

Nana opened her mouth expectantly as Shizuo picked up a piece of sushi. _Well, I'm not fucking begging._ He placed it in her mouth as she ate it, letting out a content sigh after she swallowed. He thought of Izaya's parting remark about feeding her.

_And no way in hell am I going to let that happen__, either._


	5. five

A/N: Sorry for the wait, everyone! I hope you guys like~ Fluff alert! ... I think?

I don't own Durarara!

* * *

**chapter five ; don't you think it would be wonderful? ...**

A week later, Nana found herself still staying at Celty and Shinra's. As nice, and maybe a little strange as they were, she wanted to go home - well, maybe not _wanted _to, but she certainly _needed _to. _Tou-san can take as much care of himself as a toddler_, she thought bitterly. But behind that bitterness was just worry; she didn't want anything bad to happen to him, anyways (because then he'd never get a chance to change). Either way, it seemed that she simply wasn't allowed to leave.

When she'd voiced her thought to Shizuo, he'd told her that it was best to stay there, in a tone that didn't seem to leave any room for argument. She would be able to get her physical condition checked up on and taken care of every day; Shinra was a doctor, after all. When she asked about how she would pay Shinra back, the blond just told her not to worry about it; Nana had a feeling he'd _persuaded _the doctor in his own way. He also said that her father was a grown man, and should be able to - _would have_ to be able to take care of himself.

Nana had called him to tell him she would be away for awhile, and she recieved the exact reply she thought she'd get. _"Nana-chan, where are you going? How will Papa eat? Are you running away with that debt collector!"_ and _"How could you abandon Papa like this?"_

Her father's voice had been very loud, so loud that even Shizuo, who was sitting a short distance away from her on the couch, could hear. In one swift motion, he leaned over, grabbed the cell from her, and flipped it shut.

She remembered gawking at his actions, and was about to yell at him for hanging up on her father no matter _how_much of a bum he was, when he said: _"I'm sorry, but he was making me angry."_ His fists were clenching and loosening, and she stopped before she could unleash a complaint.

The past few days she'd been recovering from her beat down, Shizuo had come to visit her as much as he could. They talked a lot; he had tried to explain to her the ferocious anger that took control of him whenever he was pissed off, but how despite that, he wanted peace. Nice, simple peace - looking from his side of perspective, she could see how hard it must be for him to feel at peace when there was always something rubbing him the wrong way, especially when you could barely control your actions towards those things.

So when he'd apologized for hanging up on her father, she gave him a reassuring _"It's okay."_ and had laid her hand on top of his. It wasn't a flirtatious gesture; she meant for it to be a comforting one, and she found she did that more often as of late. He'd never ripped her hand off, so she guessed it was okay.

And Izaya, well... she was still incredibly curious about those two. Besides her wanting to know why they were such enemies, she wanted to know what was going to happen to her job. He hadn't come around since the day Shizuo was choking him up against the wall. It wasn't like she could travel to Shinjuku in her condition, anyway; but her concerns continued to eat away at her. How would she pay her debt off? For her home? Her bruises and scrapes were starting to fade away, but the broken bones still remained. She wore a splint for her ribs and had her arm in a sling; it wasn't very comfortable, to say the least, especially when she was trying to shower.

Thankfully, when Celty was there, she would wash her hair for her since Nana could usually manage the rest with her good arm, even if it did cause her discomfort (strangely enough, Celty still wore her helmet in the bathroom... the whole apartment, now that she thought about it). She hated depending on others for something as simple as washing her hair, but it was something she just couldn't do for herself. And Celty had been the only one there ten minutes ago when she stepped into the shower, so when she hobbled to the door and called her for her, she almost stumbled back from surprise when Shizuo appeared in the doorway.

"W-where's Celty-san?" She stuttered, wrapping her towel tighter around her body with her good arm as Shizuo turned to face the hallway to be polite. _How embarassing..._

"She got called in for a job. I ran into her on my way here," He coughed. "Sorry, I thought you had slipped... or something."

"I-It's okay... she won't be back for awhile, will she?" _Please, let her be back soon! My hair needs shampooing, Celty-san! And I can't possibly ask... ask..._

"Probably not anytime soon," Shizuo confirmed her fears. "What did you need her for?"

"Um... well, I can't really wash my hair too well." She gestured to her broken arm as best as she could while still holding up her towel, even though he couldn't see it.

_Well, I guess it's time to bite the bullet, Nana._ Before he could say anything to that (and before she lost the courage to ask him and ended up with unwashed hair), she spit it out. "Do you... do you think you could wash my hair for me?" In all honesty, she would feel a little uncomfortable, but it was _Shizuo_. He'd never been anything but a gentleman to her, so she figured there really wasn't any reason to worry.

She had looked at the tiled floor out of shyness while she asked, and since he was turned around, she wouldn't have been able to see his surprised expression. When she glanced back up, his head was slightly turned to the doorway.

"Are you... are you sure you want me to do that?" He asked, uncertainty clear as day in his voice, though she could tell he was trying to hide it.

"I trust you," She stated simply, then opened up the door further, inviting him in.

He still stood outside the door, but he was facing her now. "You... you trust me." It wasn't so much as a question than it was a deadpan statement.

"Of course I do! Why wouldn't I?" She asked him, as if the answer was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I..." He stopped, trailing off as she looked to him expectantly.

Although when he reluctantly stepped inside the steamy bathroom, his form towering over her, she started to feel a little flustered. "B-but no funny business! This is just... well, I just need help to wash my hair!" She felt vulnerable right now, and overlooked her somewhat contradictory statements; Nana was wet and soppy, clad in nothing more than a towel, and he was fully dressed, and tall, and good looking...

_W-where the hell did that come from!_ Before she could delve any deeper into that thought, Shizuo grunted and rolled up his white sleeves, "I... am glad that you trust me." He said slowly, as if the words 'trust' and 'me' in the same sentence were completely foreign to his tongue.

"S-stop being silly, Shizuo! Come on, let's get this done..."

* * *

Two minutes later, Nana was sitting on a stool, her back facing him.

Shizuo stared at the innocent bottle of shampoo unsurely. _No one's ever asked me to do anything like this before, except for Kasuka... but was when we were kids. _Now he would be doing the same for a young woman - not quite the same thing, now. He and Nana had already started to become fast friends before the... incident, but during her stay at Shinra's he had come to visit her whenever he had time to, and usually ended up lingering there.

Maybe it was the fact she didn't piss him off, or maybe it was the time they were eating cake at her little apartment, hidden away from the bustling city outside in rare, quiet peace; maybe it was the guilt from what had happened to her that continued to slowly nibble away at him, or maybe it was the way her eyes lit up when she saw him, eyes that weren't lit up in fear or anything negative, but he was starting to... starting to what?

And when he had found out that the fucking _flea, _of all people, was her boss, he'd been beyond pissed off. Just the idea of the informant bossing her around disgusted him, but he couldn't feel that disgust towards her. It wasn't like she knew what kind of person he was, anyway. She was just someone taking the best opportunity that revealed itself to her. But even in the one week or so she'd been employed, thinking about how much time that scum was around Nana - shampoo squirted out from the bottle he was tightly squeezing at the thought and plopped to the ground.

He knew he enjoyed her company, but lately he was starting to see her in a different light. She was no longer the 'scrawny girl who had given him a surprise attack', but was now 'the scrawny girl who never failed to surprise him'. Especially with what Nana had just told him; _She trusts me. I don't know why, but she... trusts me._

Ever since the moment she'd been ganged up on by those assholes (_Kill 'em, kill 'em, kill 'em; _more shampoo was squeezed out from the bottle), ever since the moment he'd gotten that fucked up text message; that was when he noticed the change. Sure, he'd act that way for anyone he called his friend, but it was _her._ She wasn't involved in any underground business, she wasn't in a gang, and she didn't actively try to piss people off like _some_ people; Nana was simply someone just trying to survive in the city, even with the shitty hand she'd been dealt. She had dared to befriend him, even though she told him herself that day that she was scared of him. He could still remember the tug she'd given his sleeve...

"Shizuo, what's taking so long?" Nana questioned, turning to him and still tightly clutching her towel together.

_She's... pretty, _he absently thought as he took the sight of her in. Nana wasn't a striking beauty, but the way wet tendrils of her taupe hair clung to her face and upper body was strangely alluring to him, as were her big, plain brown eyes. Perhaps she seemed so pretty to him by way of herself, and the fact someone so utterly normal like her could allow a fuck-up like him to be close to her struck something in him. Not to mention that she'd still forgiven him, even though everything had been _his fault_ -

"Shizuo?" She brought him out of his thoughts again, and he realized he had just been staring at her while lost in his reverie. He quickly averted his gaze and cleared his throat, making his way to her as she turned her back to him again.

"Sorry." He made his way over to her, and he swallowed before squirting some shampoo into his hands. Lathering the mixture in his hands, he slowly placed them on her head before starting to massage it in, trying to be as gentle as possible. _Soft,_ he thought as he started washing the bottom of her hair, and then moving back up to the crown of her head. "Head back."

She obliged so he could get the hair in the front, and being gentle must have worked, because he could see her tilted face looked content. Her eyes were closed and there was a slight upturn of her lips, and he found himself taking in her features, still slowly massaging the shampoo on her hair. Shizuo swallowed again as she let out a relaxed moan - certain thoughts arose unbidden to his mind, and he quickly scolded himself. _She's trusting you to do this for her. Stop thinking dirty thoughts, damn it._

A few minutes later, he realized her whole head was done, but he was still massaging her scalp as she leaned back into him the tiniest bit, serene expression still on her face. She was so relaxed that her grip on the towel started loosening a little, dropping down to reveal more of her back and - his traitorous eyes couldn't help but glance (okay, maybe it was a little more than a glance) at the cleavage that was now starting to show. She wasn't especially well endowed, but she wasn't flat chested, either, and - _Fuck, stop being such a pervert!_ To distract himself, he grabbed the bucket filled with warm water to rinse out the shampoo.

"I'm- I'm rinsing it out now." She merely gave him a slow nod, still utterly at ease. A few minutes later, her hair was free of shampoo suds, and he quickly stood up. He had to get the hell out of there.

"You need anymore help, Nana?" _Please say no._

"No, I'm okay. Thanks, Shizuo." She gave him a smile and he quickly looked off to the side, already heading for the still open door. He closed it on his way out, but didn't move any further; instead, he leaned against the door, staring at the hallway wall across from him. _What's wrong with me?_

"Having fun, Shizuo?" His head turned at the speed of light to the direction where he heard the voice; it was Shinra, standing there with a knowing look and smile on his face.

"Wipe that goddamn look off your face, Shinra." He grumbled, then made his way to the balcony to smoke a cigarette. The doctor followed behind him, humming.

"I saw the bathroom door was open, so I went and took a peek. You'll never believe what I saw!" He grinned with his eyebrow raised suggestively, and Shizuo wanted nothing more than to punch it right off of his face.

"Shut _up_, Shinra."

The bespectacled man went silent, observing the collector's face, but it didn't last for long. "She likes you, you know. When you're not here, she asks about you a lot. She talks about you a lot, too, and it's never a bad word that comes out of her mouth..." He stated in a sing-song voice that grinded on his nerves.

Shizuo said nothing, just took a drag of his cigarette and watched the smoke drift away. He continued on, unperturbed, "And obviously, if she's been hanging around you long enough for you to wash her hair, she must know about your anger issues." He was still wearing that goddamn grin that was starting to immensely piss him off.

"Shinra..." He growled out in a warning. _If he doesn't shut the hell up right now, I-_

"She's cute, too! Kinda plain - but hey, if she can accept you, that's what you've been wanting for so long, right? " Shizuo gripped the railing so tight that it left a dent in the metal, but Shinra took no notice. His cigarette snapped between his fingers, dropping from his fingers and over the side. Excitedly, he got up in the blond's face, "Hey, did you get a good look at any of Nana-chan's-"

Before the words could finish their way out of his mouth, Shizuo grabbed Shinra, who immediately started flailing about.

"H-Hey, I was kidding, Shizuo!" He had him above his head and was dangerously close to tossing him over the side of the balcony, veins pulsing in his forehead. "You know I don't want anyone other than Celty! I was just asking! It was a joke!" He wailed.

The mention of Celty broke through the red haze in his mind; he figured she wouldn't be too pleased if he threw her (God knows why) beloved over the side of the building, so he brought him back down to the ground. However, he moved his grip to his throat instead, and the doctor clawed at the offending hand frantically.

"Don't ever assume _you_ know what I want. And don't _ever_ talk about her in that way, or I swear, Shinra, you'll be nothing but a stain on the fucking pavement!" Shinra, unable to speak, could only vehemently nod his head that he understood.

Shizuo held him there a little longer, staring him down with less than pleasant intentions, then dropped him in a heap on the ground.

"H-heh... I guess you like her in that way, too, Shizuo." His hand darted back out to snatch the doctor up again._Bastard doesn't know when to shut his fucking mouth. _A hand intercepted the action, though - it was Celty.

[What's going on? Is Shinra being an idiot again?] She held out her PDA for both of them to see. Shizuo merely grunted and lit up another cigarette. Shinra, on the other hand, clung to Celty like she was a lifeline, whimpering.

"My honeeey! I was just trying to make Shizuo see something that he obviously can't, or doesn't understand-" He quickly shut his mouth as Shizuo shot him a glare that could kill twenty thousand people on the spot.

[...I see.]

"Celty-san, is that you who just came in?" Nana's voice floated out faintly to the balcony.

[I'm going to go see if Nana needs help. Behave yourselves!] She gave a jab to Shinra's stomach as he tried pouncing on her, proclaiming his love for her yet again, and went back inside, the doctor following her like a lovesick puppy.

He turned away with a snort to overlook the scenery of the city. "Tch." He really didn't want to admit it, but Shinra had hit close to home, even though he was close to pulverizing him for talking about Nana that way. _Does she really ask about me that much? Does she actually... accept me?_

He finished his cigarette a few minutes, but another thought remained in his head. _Is that what that is? Do I feel _that_way for her?_

"Shizuo!" The object of his thoughts had her head poked out the sliding door, her hair still somewhat wet and clinging to her face. "Come inside! Celty-san's starting to make dinner, and it smells really_, _really good!" She stepped out on the balcony, a smile on her face.

And as she fearlessly grabbed his hand without any sort of hesitation to guide him inside_ - __I just might._

* * *

It was a beautiful, crisp winter day. Outside there were people shopping; snow was starting to flurry, lightly dusting everything in sight - but on the inside (or more specifically, outside _someone's_ office in Shinjuku), however...

_Damn it._

Shizuo stood stiffly outside of Izaya's place, a tense hand semi-raised to knock on the door. If he'd been here for any other reason, he would have busted in by now and taken the flea by storm - it just so happened that he needed information. Information that he could only come by from _him,_ seeing as he'd been the one to communicate with whichever asshole, out of many in this city, had beaten the shit out of Nana. His hand raised higher, determination etched into his face when he admitted to himself that he had been putting it off. It was time to stop, even though the last thing he wanted to do was talk to the informant and _play nice_ - surely, that was what he'd have to do if he was to get even a word about it out of him.

But each time he saw Nana, it nagged him at the back of his mind; he felt like a coward, a coward who couldn't even handle talking to someone he didn't like (okay, maybe _hate_ is a better word). And even though he was sure she was in pain most of the time, she never whined about it. And not once had she suggested that Shizuo should go take revenge on them; actually, she'd been rather adamant he didn't. They'd actually argued about it before he left.

She had been worrying again. Worrying about her bills, her debt, her job. She was hoping to hop back onto the figurative saddle as soon as possible. She was still thinking about her father - she prayed to whatever higher power there was that he didn't get into trouble and eating right. At least, eating at all, since Nana was the one who bought what sparse amount they could afford. She was healing up nicely, yes, but she was still injured; painful injuries.

That train of thought lead to him to think at how he'd been procrastinating passing on some well deserved_punishment_ to those thugs because he couldn't talk to Orihara Izaya like said man was a decent human being... which he wasn't, at least in his own personal opinion.

So when he declared he was going right that instant to find whoever it was and fuck them up, she wasn't really too happy.

* * *

_"What? Shizuo, don't!"_

_She had visibly paled, grabbing his hand tightly, "Who cares about them! It_'s_ not worth getting in trouble, or getting hurt-"_

_For the first time since she'd started doing that (taking his hand hostage, that was - any other time he'd probably secretly revel in it), he ripped his hand out of her grasp, the anger rising in him enough to make him ignore the wounded look on her face at his actions. She slowly withdrew her hand, brown eyes wide and aimed at his, and it settled to rest on her lap as she bit her lip, not knowing what else she could say to him that wouldn't make him angry._

_"How could you say that?" He questioned in disbelief, "How could you say you don't want those assholes to get what they have coming!"_

_Shizuo rose to his feet as his voice did the same, fists clenching at his sides, and Nana eyed him cautiously. That wary look he did notice. It was an expression that he could easily recognize from a mile away, seeing how that was how most people tended to look at him. He forced himself to breathe in deeply; the young woman in front of him had opened herself to him - trusted him, despite the fact he could tear her asunder with ease. Shizuo especially hated that the careful look on her face was directed at him, and tried his best to calm down, even a little bit._

_"Fuck. What if it is worth it?" He swallowed, keeping her gaze as she bit her lip._

_"But it's not! _I'm _not worth you being the next one something bad happens to!" She exclaimed, now taking a stance that matched his, although it took her a longer time due to her trying not to further injure herself. Seeing her like that only served to make him regain the bit of rage he'd managed to temporarily shove down._

_"Don't be stupid, Nana-"_

_"Stupid?" A fierce look appeared on her face, the same one she had when he had her dangling by her oversized coat when they had first met. Eyebrows slanted, eyes slightly narrowed, frown in place. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen her look like that at him recently. Suddenly, it seemed foreign and out of place on her. He didn't like it._

_"I'm not being stupid, Shizuo! You're the one who wants go and get even for the person who doesn't want to!" She took a step forward. "I just want to - I just want to let it be! I want to forget about it, forget that it ever happened!" Her voice was rising as steadily as his had just a minute ago, and she took one more pace._

_"I've been freeloading here at Celty-san and Shinra-san's, and I'm sure they don't need that! I have things and people to take care of, I need to get back to work, and I-!" Another step and she stopped, her face and features softening. "... Just let it go, okay? Please?"_

_He grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her as if hoping some sense might come inside. How the hell did she expect him to just let it go? "And if they decide they wanna take a stab at me again? They already know who you are, idiot-" He paused mid-sentence._

_Shizuo had jostled her arm while shaking her, and there was a wince on her face, if only for a split moment - at least, a split moment was all he saw. As soon as the pained look flitted across her face, __he let go of her as if he'd been burned, already making long strides for the door._

_"Where are you... where are you going?"_

_She wasn't really expecting an answer, and so she wasn't too devastated when he walked out and slammed the door, wordlessly._

* * *

Shizuo was brought back into the present when the door in front of him and his raised fist opened, and a rather amused looking Izaya appeared in the doorway.

"Sorry if I was interrupting some kind of private, inner soliloquy, Shizu-chan," A smirk appeared on that sly face, "But I was getting bored of counting how long it would take you to actually knock on the door; you know, like a polite human being. The fact you were trying to surprises even me!" He took a glance at an imaginary watch on his wrist. "... I think I stopped at eight minutes and forty three seconds."

He couldn't help the growl that came out, really. The blond grimaced, gritting his teeth before inhaling a deep breath and taking off his blue sunglasses. "You know why-"

"-why you're here, yes. I'm sure it could only be for one reason, if you didn't come in here to try to murder me yet again!" Izaya opened the door, that annoying, cocky look still plastered on his face as he waved him inside with grand flourish. Shizuo almost started glancing around for hidden traps of some sort -

"Don't worry, my apartment certainly isn't rigged."

_I fucking hat_e _him._ With a knowing look on his face, he strode further into his apartment as the collector reluctantly followed. Izaya made a beeline for desk, and sat there looking all the bit the professional with his hands clasped neatly in front of him as Shizuo stopped in front of him.

"Who was it?"

Izaya raised a brow, leaning back in his chair and now putting his feet up on it, shattering the previous professional image. "Who was who, Shizu-chan? There's a lot of _who's _out there..."

Growling maliciously, he slammed his hands on the desk in front of him, making a splintered split in the middle of the desk. He felt a tiny amount better when he saw a pout momentarily flash on the his enemy's boyish face.

"Don't _fucking _play with me!" His eyes were wide with anger as Izaya frowned and took his feet off his now cracked desk.

"I guess I was too hasty to think that you'd actually be a 'polite, human being'." He cocked his head as Shizuo made to step around the desk and probably strangle him to death, when he continued, "Honestly, though, I didn't think they'd do anything to Nana-hime."

His advances paused, but his fingers still twitched to wrap around his skinny neck and snap it; the only thing holding him back was that Izaya was starting to finally breach the subject. "I thought they'd go after you - like they usually do."

He spun around in his chair to face the window, then abruptly stood and pressed his hands to the glass. Izaya looked as if he were a child gawking at shiny toys. Staring down at the droves of people on the ground with an eager glint in his dark eyes, he certainly resembled one. "That's why I love humans so much!"

"Just when you think you've learned everything possible from every type of human... they go and surprise you, and then they're like brand new-"

"Stop rambling and just tell me who it was!" Shizuo shouted, frustration coursing through his veins.

"Since when have I been rambling, Shizu-chan?" He asked cockily. Shizuo strode to the large computer perched on the cracked desk, placing his hands on the sides.

"If you don't tell me, all your work is going out the goddamn window!"

Izaya removed his hands from the window, turning to face him. "Playing dirty, huh? Not like I was expecting much else." Shizuo supposed he didn't exactly want all his files on what the fuck ever he kept tabs on going down the drain, seeing as he started to speak again.

"Let's say I do tell you. You'll obviously go after him and his friends and beat them to a pulp and into the hospital. Like usual."

"What the fuck is your point?" The small amount of patience he had was quickly dwindling, and the urge to cause terrible harm to the informant was taking its place.

The brunet rolled his eyes as if he had just asked the most ridiculous question in the world. "Did it ever cross your protozoan brain that the same thing could - and probably would - happen again?"

Shizuo was quiet, and Izaya went on. "Since Nana-hime got into trouble the first time they tried to get revenge, don't you think if you sent _them_ to the hospital, the vicious cycle would just repeat itself?" He plopped himself back down in his chair. "Really, must I explain everything? Do you need a further detailed explaination to fully grasp the concept I'm trying to tell you?"

"Shut the fuck up." Shizuo spat out, but surprisingly, it came out only half hearted.

As much as he hated to admit it, the flea was probably right. Obviously, they had found out where she lived and who she was - and it wasn't like she could have a bodyguard constantly around her in case such a thing did happen again. So where did that leave him? Go and take revenge for Nana so they could take revenge on him again? And if they took revenge on him again, she would most definitely be an easy target.

"It'd be much, _much _safer for her if she didn't know you." Izaya stated matter of factly, watching the flickering emotions pass by on his enemy's face. Honestly, he figured Shizuo would tell him to go fuck himself, throw something around or try to kill him, then leave and go try to figure it out himself.

"Did you plan this shit, you fucking flea?" Shizuo questioned somewhat quietly, and it slightly threw him off.

"I don't plan much, Shizu-chan. More like I set up the pieces. I set their role, and watch things fall into place. That's the joy about humans - no matter where you set them up, they always have the choice to decide their own path." He watched the blond remove his hands from his computer. "And some of them? Some may try to go their own way, but depending on the actions of others may be stuck where they are, never moving forward. Or maybe they'll just get hurt because of other's moves. A... what were the words I used earlier? Ah, yes - _v__icious cycle, _one might say."

"Shut the hell up." He may not have been the brightest person to grace Ikebukuro, but he got the message in the repeated words 'vicious' and 'cycle' that Izaya was so _kindly _and_ subtly _squeezing in.

"Well, don't say I didn't try to tell you!" The informant tapped his index finger against his lips. "Maybe the next time she gets hurt, I'll have her stay over here! I can always have Shinra come check on-"

The computer was on the hardwood floor, broken, before he could even finish his sentence. "So hostile!" The ever present shit eating grin was still on his face. "You should know I'm smart enough to keep a back up of everything I had on there. Though, I can't say I felt like buying a new computer today." He shrugged nonchalantly.

Shizuo glared at him. "Whatever. Stay the fuck out of 'bukuro."

And with that, he swiftly exited, slamming the door. Izaya stood at his window, still glancing down at the passerby. Once he saw the blond head hastily walking away, he grinned. As much as he utterly abhorred Heiwajima Shizuo, it was terribly fun to mess around with his mind.

He'd planted the seed - now it was just time to watch it grow.

* * *

The first thing he did when he was out of that accursed building was light up a cigarette. He was still angry - but now he was mostly torn. He knew Izaya was right - if he did go try to get some semblance of vengeance, there was always the possibility they'd loop around back to Nana. Hell, even if he _didn't _beat them up, it was inevitable that Shizuo would get cross with someone at some point, no matter who it was. And then, Nana...

Nana, with her big brown eyes and small hands that dared to touch his rough, callused ones. Nana, with her stupid statements (_I trust you, Shizuo) _that he wished never floated into his ears.

He took a deep drag and made his way back to Ikebukuro, the decision he knew he'd have to make - and soon - weighing heavily on his shoulders.


	6. six

A/N: Sorry for the wait on the update! I've been having writer's block (kinda) with some of the story, but I'm trying to pump em out for you guys~ So I apologize if this chapter is 'blah' at all... And if no one noticed, I condensed the chapters. It really bothers me when I have a good amount of chapters and they're all kinda short... (ignore the fact this one isn't too long, please!)

Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate it!

And if anyone is interested, I've started (another... I know, I know!) another story, this one being Shizuo x OC x Izaya. Honestly, I feel like my writing is a lot better in that, so you should all go take a look. The OC in that story is probably the complete opposite of Nana, as well.

Anyway, enjoy.

I don't own Durarara!

* * *

**chapter six ; can you hear my voice? ...**

"I hope he's okay..." Nana sighed as Shinra typed away at his laptop. "I mean, he _will _be okay, right? Right, Shinra-san?"

The typing paused as Shinra looked at her from over his shoulder, smiling reassuringly. "Don't worry, Nana-chan. Shizuo is incredibly tough. He can take care of himself." She wanted to say that he had been gone for about two hours now, but didn't want to annoy the doctor with her worries and remained quiet.

"Yeah. You're right..." She stared out the sliding glass doors at the sky that had turned dark since his departure. _I hope he hasn't gotten any stupid ideas. Shizuo... why go to all the trouble because of me? Hopefully you're not still mad when you come back, either._

Those were the thoughts in her head as she waited for him to return. Finally, about a half hour later, there was a knock at the door. Shinra hopped up from the computer chair, stretching as he made his way to the door. Nana herself had sat up straight, hoping it was Shizuo, and that everything was okay. She heard hushed murmuring before she heard the door close again, and footsteps started towards the living room.

It was Shizuo; he had shuffled in, hands in his pockets with a grave looking expression on his face. Shinra shot Shizuo a look before announcing he was going to go shower, and disappeared into the hallway. Nana let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding and jumped up to the best of her ability.

"Shizuo! You're alright!" She exclaimed, smiling with relief, "Don't ever go and... and do something dumb like that again, okay! Jeez..."

He didn't say anything, just tugged at the small black bow around his collar. "Nana."

"I'm sorry I yelled at you... I really didn't want to argue with you, honest-"

"Nana, stop talking."

_Is something wrong? _"What is it?" She blinked at him, and he looked away. "Shizuo? Did something happen, after all?"

"I..." He seemed to be fighting for the right words, and she started to grow concerned. "Nana, this is..." She made a step towards him, and stopped when he backed up. _Something is definitely wrong._

"Why won't you tell me? It can't be that bad... right?" What was the worse that could have happened? She gave him a once over again; he looked fine to her. No bruises or scratches, or any signs he'd been in a fight. "Whatever it is - whatever you tell me, it's okay! We're friends, you know!"

"That's the thing." He rubbed the back of his blond head, "We can't be friends, Nana." She furrowed her brows at him in disbelief, and he still refused to look her in the eye.

"Can't be... we can't be friends? What do you mean? Why?" She shot out, voice wavering a little.

"You..." He struggled with his words, and she interjected before he could find them.

"I'll make whatever it is better, if it's me there's something wrong with!"

There was a long, silent pause before he continued. "You're an annoyance to me." Then he did look at her, and in a way it was even worse that he did; maybe if he hadn't, she could've believed he didn't mean it. His brown eyes were deathly serious, though, and it hurt horribly to see it.

Her mouth opened, wanting to produce words; anything to try and fix whatever had happened, but nothing came out. "You've been nothing but a burden to me. I don't have time for it." At his words, it felt like ice was starting to coat the bottom of her heart.

"You... you don't mean that, do you?" She could feel a lump start to form in the back of her throat, and she tried to swallow it back even as her vision got blurry. "What did I do? Tell me, and I won't ever be a burden again!"

"Just... just let it go. Go live your life-" He backed up again, and her feet were rooted to the spot, even though she wanted nothing more than to run up to him and demand why, when, and how he had decided any of this.

"-and let me live mine." He turned away, "I'm sorry." And with that, he was out the door, and Nana could only stare as it hit her.

The one person who she was starting to genuinely care about - the one person who had treated her so kindly in this cold city... he wanted nothing to do with her. She slowly sank down on the couch, eyes unblinking. It seemed so stupid. She didn't even know him long, at least not long enough where she should feel this way about it. She didn't even know something as stupid as his favorite color, or his birthday. And suddenly, sitting there alone on the couch in the quiet apartment, Nana felt like a full fledged fool. The ice started to spread, just the tiniest bit.

_Shizuo..._

* * *

_One Month Later_

The harsh January wind and snow bit at Nana's nose and ears as she hastily ran into the building up ahead, looking forward to the heat that was insured inside. Once she was in, she began to brush the snow off herself as she walked into the elevator, straightening her hair and smoothing her clothes down. There was a tiny ding as she reached her level, and she strode out and made her way to the door after punching in the time clock.

She opened the door and closed it behind her gently. "Good morning, Izaya!" she called out, but her boss was not in his usual position at his desk. "Ah... Izaya?" She walked in further, looking around until his voice hit her from the loft.

"Good morning, Nana-hime~" Her attention shifted to upstairs, where Izaya was leaning on the railing with his chin in his hand. He waved, "Don't bother taking your coat off. We're going out!"

"Out? Out where? And doing what?" She asked curiously and cocked her head. She had just been out in the cold, too...

"It's a surprise!" He smirked then started to come down the steps, hopping a few of them at a time. "So what fun would it be if I told you, hmm?"

Nana could only raise her eyebrow at him as he threw on his coat and grabbed her by the hand, guiding her out the door. _Well, he certainly is full of surprises..._

As they walked down the snow covered sidewalk, she snuck a glance at him. He was humming some tune with no harmony, a bounce in his every step. She honestly wasn't kidding when she said he was full of surprises.

He had, after all, paid for her debt.

After what happened with Shizuo, she had been out of it. She had some suspicions that Celty and Shinra seemed to know something she didn't about what happened, but they never said anything of it. Her heart felt broken; it seemed silly to her, since they weren't even that close, but she couldn't deny the fact that it was certainly what it felt like. She felt cold on the inside. Nana had let herself believe she had found a friend in him, and now she only regretted it immensely. The only thing she had let herself do was get hurt by trusting someone she barely knew. Nana didn't want to talk, or even eat, not even when Shinra brought back takeout or Celty made one of her delicious meals.

It wasn't even like she could call Shizuo, either. Even though they had been 'friends', she'd never even gotten his number - and he'd never asked for hers. And if he truly didn't want to hear from her anymore, she didn't want to cause any problems between him and the people he _did _consider close by getting his number from them.

And then, a week later, Izaya had shown up at the apartment. He suggested to her that since she was almost fully better, to come and work for him soon. Of course, she had readily agreed; no matter how horrible she felt, she still had responsibilities to take care of. And strangely enough, even he had been able to notice the change within her. That day_... _it was the day where everything seemed to take a step up to being better, though it didn't seem like it would at the time, or any time soon.

_"Nana-hime, why the long face?" Izaya asked, leaning in close to examine said expression. She had already told him she'd start working again as soon as possible, but he stayed afterwards anyway. She was starting to wonder why he hadn't just called her in the first place, seeing as there was really no need for him to ask her that in person._

_"What long face? I'm fine!" She insisted, waving her hands in front of her. "Really, Izaya, you must be seeing things..." She trailed off. Was it really that easy to tell she felt horrible lately? She made a mental note to try and be less readable. It was quiet in the doctor's apartment except for the clanging coming from the kitchen; Celty was trying to cook, and Shinra was no doubt launching himself at her vehemently._

_"Maybe. By the way, how's Shizu-chan?" The glint in his eye went unnoticed by Nana as she peered down at her hands as if they were suddenly the most interesting things in the world. _Way to hit the nail on the head, boss...

_"I... I wouldn't know." Izaya made an interested 'oh?' as she continued, "We don't talk anymore."_

_"How terrible of Shizu-chan... did he say why?" She stared at him, trying to decipher whether or not he actually cared. She hadn't even talked to either the doctor or the helmet wearing woman about it. Maybe she didn't want to be told that she really wasn't worth the effort of having a friendly relationship with. __However, there did seem to be a degree of concern in his eyes... And suddenly, she couldn't keep it in any longer, and just felt the need to talk about it._

___"He said that... that I was annoying. And a burden..." She blurted out, then looked out the window. "Maybe I was. Maybe it's my fault, after all-"_

___"Nana-hime!" Her head snapped back as Izaya grabbed her shoulders, his burgundy eyes looking directly into hers. "I don't think you're annoying. Or a burden." He smiled at her, and she gazed back at him disbelievingly. "Shizu-chan has never been the most sociable person; he's not really a good person in general, actually."_

___"But... up until then, he had been so nice to me. He seemed like he cared... you know?" Wetness trailed down her cheeks before she could even realize it. "It just hurt... a lot."_

___She wanted to tell him that he _had_ been a good person to her; when they had been friends, that is, but he kept on going. "I can be your friend, Nana-hime. Why don't you let me?" He raised a finger to wipe the tears off her cheek, and she blushed and looked away._

_"You're my boss, I work for you... it's not really a typical friendsh-"_

_Izaya laughed, cutting her off in mid sentence. "And yours and Shizu-chan's was?" She didn't want to admit it, but he was right. Their friendship had definitely started from a strange position. It didn't occur to her until later that he had knowledge of how they met. "I wouldn't hurt you like he did, Nana-hime. He's just a protozoan brute with absolutely no social skills whatsoever. I, on the other hand..."_

_"Well, we're just complete opposites, you see." The hands on her shoulders gripped them softly. "So why don't you give me a chance? We'll see each other all the time, anyways... that's what friends do, isn't it?" She refrained from telling him that bosses and employees everywhere saw each other all the time, but that didn't mean they'd get along._

_"I... I guess?" She said unsurely. He patted her cheek lightly as she looked up at him doubtfully. "Why would you want to be my friend so bad, Izaya?" She knew that he and Shizuo were enemies of some sort, but she'd never gotten the full story. He wouldn't go that far to piss off Shizuo, would he? ... No, Izaya seemed like he had better things to do with his time..._

_He leaned in again and whispered in her ear as if he was telling a huge secret, "Maybe I need one too, Nana-hime..." Izaya regained the distance they held. "Everyone needs one in this kind of world, don't they?"_

She hadn't really believed him when he said he wanted to be friends with her. How could she? After all, she still felt awkward being around his some of the time. How would you be friends with someone you couldn't be comfortable with? They didn't even have anything in common, either.

However, once she had healed up, gave a huge thanks to Shinra and Celty and gone home (dealing with her tearful father when she did), something seemed to change. There was a gaping hole in the part of her heart that she had opened up to the possibility of friendship, and now there was nothing to fill it. The first few days she was home, it was the same routine.

Wake up, go to work, come home from work, deal with drunken father, go to bed. Rinse and repeat. Each time she went to work, though, Izaya was always there to greet her with a smile and conversation, and she found that just those small things alone were slowly starting to fill it back up. She began to feel more and more comfortable around her employer; as wary as she had been of him when she first met him, she was now opening up to him just the same.

And then came the day where he had truly, honestly surprised her. Nana had not heard from Tom since her last payment from before the incident. She knew that while she was recuperating, Shizuo had somewhat told Tom what happened. Maybe Tom had been surprised that Shizuo would defend someone's excuse for lack of payment, because he hadn't bothered her. But surely by now, even though they weren't talking, the blond had told him she was better now and would be able to work again soon to continue paying.

On the first payday she had when she was back to work, she had gone to the debt collectors' office to see Tom in person and give him money towards the debt. To both her disappointment and relief, Shizuo was not there. When she spoke to him about the payment, he had merely raised an eyebrow at her and told her it had been paid off in one fell swoop; he had gotten a letter mailed to the office filled with the appropriate amount owed. Her jaw had dropped. Who would have paid it...? The only people that knew about her debt was the collectors and her father, and obviously it hadn't been them.

So it wasn't her fault that she was so shocked when Izaya called her an hour later, asking if she found out yet.

_"Uh... Find out what, Izaya?"_

_"Found out that I paid your debt for you, Nana-hime! What else?" She took the cell from her ear and stared at it, speechless, before holding it back up again._

_"That was... that was you?" She blinked rapidly, "How did you... how did you even know? I never told you about that!"_

_A chuckle came from the other end. "Nana-hime, why don't you come back here? We can talk about it. Maybe it's about time I even tell you what I do for a living."_

_She bit her lip. She'd just been in Shinjuku earlier for work, but... it was the least she could do, right? "Okay. I'm on my way now." She paused. "And... Izaya?"_

_"Yes, Nana-hime?"_

_"Th-...thank you..."_

Once she arrived, he kept to his word and told her how he'd found out. He told her he dealt with information; the selling of it, at least. She felt taken aback; it sounded like a shady career to her, and she thought for a moment that her first instincts when she met him might have been right. Didn't they deal with gangs? And the Yakuza? And all sorts of nasty people? She had reluctantly voiced her opinion to him, which he waved off.

_"You of all people should know that one must make a living, Nana-hime." She found she couldn't blame him. She knew how hard it was to struggle day by day, and she knew that she would do almost anything to not have to do that._

_"Now... after all this, you still won't be my friend?" Izaya pouted at her as she peeped at him from over her cup of tea. "It makes me sad you would so readily accept someone like Shizu-chan, yet refuse me so adamantly!"_

_She tried to hide the wince she made at the mention of his name, yet she took his words seriously and weighed the pros and cons of this suggested 'friendship' he was proposing. He was definitely strange, that was for sure. And then she had just found out what he did for a living; the sometimes seedy dealing of desired information. In fact, it kind of scared her how apparently easy it was for him to find things out, even something not so big like her debt, or how she'd gotten to know Shizuo. Not to mention he just seemed to have some kind of weird vibe around him..._

_But then she figured she was getting over his weird quirks, though it was taking some amount of time. He hadn't ever really treated her wrongly or badly. And then he _had _paid off her debt, which wasn't exactly chump change, either. And like she had started noticing before, Izaya had also started helping repair the hole Shizuo had left, even if he wasn't aware of it. Thanks to him, she wasn't moping around and being _too _depressed...__ She looked at him once more._

_"No, I... I would like that, Izaya."_

"We're here, Nana-hime!" She blinked and looked at her surroundings as they halted their walk. She had been thinking so much about the past month she hadn't even realized they had arrived to wherever they had been headed. Izaya grabbed her hand again and dragged her into a store lining the street; she glanced up at the sign before going inside, and her eyes widened. _A clothing store? Why are we here...?_

Once inside, Nana gaped at all the clothes on display. Izaya laid an arm across her shoulders, leaning his head down to her level. "Come on, now, Nana-hime. You think I can't tell you've been wearing this thing," He pinched at the fabric of her coat, "forever and a day?"

She reddened with embarrassment. "W-well, excuse me! Some people don't have the luxury of-!" She was silenced as Izaya shushed her by putting a finger to her lips.

"Did I hurt your feelings, Nana-hime?" He smirked, "I'm sorry. I just thought I'd do something nice for my friend!"

She took his hand and removed it from her mouth, somewhat humbled by his words. Well, he was trying to do something nice, though the way he went about things was wrong sometimes... "I'm sorry, I- You're right. You're only trying to do something nice for me..." She guiltily swept her eyes up to his.

"No worries! Friends forgive each other, you know." The smirk stretched further, and he turned her around towards all the clothes, ushering her forward to a saleswoman. "Now, go get yourself something that doesn't look like it will fall apart at the seams. Maybe we should get you some clothes to actually look nice at work, too... Ah, Nana-hime, you would look so cute in this!"

And even though his words still retained an insulting tinge to them, she found she couldn't be mad at him when he was doing something like this for her, and at her rapid excuses of why he needn't do anything like this, he would wave his hand and tell her to consider it a work bonus. When she stepped out of the store with hands full with bags, she was speechless again. She looked at herself in the reflection of the boutique window, studying herself. She actually looked like she'd moved up a social class or two, surprisingly.

Strangely enough, Izaya had picked out all her clothes, and she had to admit that he had good taste for being a man. The coat she now wore was all white with a single line of buttons down the center, and it had pockets on the side of them with small white bows to add to detail. And - the best part of all - it had a white fur collar and cuffs.

When she put it on, Izaya had seemed to be delighted with it, stating that they even looked like friends with similar tastes now, and had pretty much bought it right then and there on the spot. It was exactly what she had wished she had so many times... not to mention all the other clothes that lay in the bags.

"Izaya, I... I don't even know what to say! How can I repay you back?" She searched his eyes, "You've done so much for me already... given me a job, paid for my debt... you even bought me all these-"

"Nana-hime, why can't you let anyone help you?" That ever present smirk remained, "I'm just being a _friend_, after all."

Nana felt the ice that had built up in her heart start to melt, drip by slow drip. She dropped the bags at her side before standing in front of him, then reached her arms out to give him a hug without a word, burying her head in his shoulder in the middle of the sidewalk.

Izaya wrapped his arms around her, eyes narrowed and grin in place over her shoulder as she squeezed him. "I'll be your friend whenever you need me."

"So, just remember that, Nana-hime... and be loyal to me in return."

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked it! And no, Izaya does not like Nana like that; he's just trying to get on her good side, if you can't tell... makes people easier to manipulate, I suppose. :) Please review and let me know what you think. Like always, I hope I'm keeping everyone in character... More reviews = faster updates, because then I actually feel more inspired... haha.

**SHAME(FUL)LESS SELF ADVERTISEMENT**

Seriously. Go read **Ave Maria**. I think you guys might like it; I've got some craziness planned for that one, and it's barely even started yet. Though it's a dark story, and the story will definitely be heavier than this one... And I mean, c'mon, I don't see any other Horror/Romance Shizuo x OC x Izaya love triangles! (effort at being original with a hopefully crazy enough plot for you guys... umm... is it working?)

Actually, to finish this short little advertisement, how about I offer this (even if this doesn't come right away... but it would be great if it did!): Whoever gets the... 20th review (Yes, I know that's 14 more reviews away. D:) on Ave Maria, **I will write a story for you**. Nothing multi-chaptered, but substantial enough. Anything/any pairing you want! It just has to be Durarara~ And hopefully I wouldn't be waiting for that 20th review _too _long...~

So thanks for reading, and please review; and check out AM. :) Thank you, you lovely people


	7. seven

A/N: So… um… I guess I lied. :D; Everyone seems to like this story so much and said a lot of supportive things, so… here it is! I'm biting the bullet and hoping this is an acceptable chapter after not updating for so long. It's kind of short, but I hope it's better than nothing!

Ah, and this is when I'll start going into the actual storyline, I suppose – this would be episode three, and forgive me if everything isn't perfect. D: Um… Enjoy~

* * *

**chapter seven ; there is no need to tune the dial ...**

The days began and passed without much event or fanfare. It was the same, all the time: wake up, get ready, work. Maybe he'd wander around afterwards, then go home and sleep. Rinse and repeat. Today would be no different, he was sure about that. He had already reached the _work_ stage of his day. Yes, today was sure to be just as uneventful (uneventful for someone like Shizuo, at least) and irritating as all the others. He'd been more susceptible to snapping recently, though - it was something that had not escaped the notice of Tom, since he saw him the most out of anyone. But anytime he was asked whether he was doing alright or not, he'd just grunt out the same words: "I'm fine."

And honestly, Shizuo supposed he was. Nothing earth shattering had happened to him, nor had he fallen ill or been too seriously injured. Shizuo _was _fine – except, maybe, for the strange, dull ache that sometimes pulsed within his chest. It happened mostly at night, when he was by himself staring at the dark ceiling with a cigarette in hand. The niggling pain was usually accompanied by flashes of a face, a cheery smile; but just as quickly as they popped up, he would wipe them off the slate of his mind and try to get some sleep.

Today was going to be the same as everyday. Rinse, repeat. Wipe away the face that he felt he hadn't seen in far too long. The same, as always.

He'd just parted ways with Tom while on his break, and was currently wandering around the streets; no one had been bothering him, thankfully, so he was free to roam around in peace. The peace, however, was quickly gone as soon as he spotted the familiar fur trim on the hood of Izaya's jacket. His fists clenched angrily, and he immediately scanned the surrounding area for something big and painful to throw at the informant.

A convenience store trash can was the closest object that fit his needs, so he stomped over and grasped it in his hands, and without taking another step, launched it at the dark haired man. To his satisfaction, the informant went sprawling on the street, skidding a couple feet from where he had been standing and talking to three high-schoolers.

"Izaaayaaa…" He growled out menacingly, his long legs striding to a spot a short distance away. "Didn't I tell you to stay out of Ikebukuro?" He grinned in an animalistic manner, teeth bared as a vein pulsed in his forehead. This wasn't exactly a welcome difference in his day, but it would suffice.

* * *

"Thanks," Nana smiled at the cashier as she grabbed the bag off of the counter. It was filled with candy and other snacks, and she practically drooled at the thought of how good it would taste.

She'd been wandering around Ikebukuro with Izaya, who said he was looking for someone (it was a work day, but he didn't seem to care), and they'd come across two high school boys, one looking curious, the other extremely dismayed. Suddenly, Izaya had walked further up and said something to the dark haired boy, then pushed him along until the boy had walked into what he'd been staring so anxiously at.

Three teenage girls had been harassing another girl, with a large bulky man behind the three of them. She watched curiously alongside the light haired boy as Izaya stepped in, ignoring the boy's somewhat distracted attempt at hitting on her. She was too interested in the unfolding scene to really listen to anything but that. Suddenly, Izaya had started stomping on a cell phone he dropped on the ground, laughing like he was mad.

Nana would've been taken aback, and she sort of was, but she'd gotten somewhat used to his strange antics. "Hiroshi!" The girl in the middle cried out, and Nana stared dryly at the thug who stepped up. The dry look changed into surprise when she saw him try to throw a punch at Izaya, but before Nana could yell any type of warning, he'd dodged quicker than her eye could follow. She watched in amazement as the man's hair fluttered away in the wind, and then as the bullies ran away screaming.

A few minutes later, they were speaking to the three high schoolers; one was someone Izaya knew, a boy named Kida, who she noticed had a strange look on his face. The other introduced himself as Ryuugamine Mikado, and she noticed that he had a nervous look on his face as well. The girl herself was quiet and simply observed, and Nana had introduced herself alongside Izaya.

Her stomach growled, and she groaned as she placed a hand over her stomach. "Izaya, I'm going to go into that store real quick," She pointed to a convenience store not too far away, "Do you want anything?"

"Ah, I'm fine," He assured her, so she had gone into the store. She swore that while she was picking out her merchandise that the cashier had yelled, "Not again!" but she just continued grabbing a multitude of edible items and gotten rung up. She had just exited the store and was looking around for him, as he wasn't next to the teenagers anymore; instead, he was laid out on the concrete, a trash can not too far from his body.

She didn't notice anything else except for the sight of her friend lying on the pavement; immediately, she ran towards him, dropping her bag as she reached him. "Izaya! W-what happened?" Nana asked him worriedly, leaning over so quickly that her hood had fallen over her head. She bent down with her hands on his shoulders as he leaned upwards and lifted himself back up to a standing position.

"Well, well…" Came a familiar voice from behind her, and Nana's eyes widened. She stayed frozen, crouched on the ground next to Izaya in her shock. She hadn't heard that voice in so long – she didn't know whether to turn around and confirm it for herself, if she even dared to. But the voice kept on speaking, until Izaya confirmed it for her.

"Shizu-chan," He muttered, and Nana could feel her palms begin to sweat from her nervousness. What should she do? Should she stand up and say hi? But he had told her she was annoying, she reminded herself, and… Nana bit her lip as she stayed down. They exchanged not-so-friendly banter, and she was so wrapped up in thinking over her next move that she didn't notice they were surrounded by thugs until she'd heard a huge crack and gasps and murmurs.

Still, she stayed paralyzed on the ground even as she heard Shizuo yelling at someone; her mind couldn't even focus on any words, just the simple sound of his voice. She'd slowly been getting over everything that happened, but just hearing him… it made her heart hurt and her eyes water, and she clenched them shut.

And then the noise level grew with flesh hitting flesh, grunts and more yells; almost against her will and better judgement, she rose to her feet and stood next to Izaya, staring fearfully at what she saw.

Shizuo was in action, a flurry of jabs and kicks that sent his opponents reeling to the ground and moaning in pain. Too much blood for Nana's liking was running down his face, and she resisted the urge to cry out to him.

"Well… have fun!" Izaya called out, then tugged on her sleeve; however, she stayed glued to the spot. She didn't think she could have left, even if her life depended on it. "If you insist, Nana-hime!" The informant threw her a smirk before running – because it seemed like _his_ life depended on it.

"Where do you think you're going!" Shizuo roared out, gripping up a vending machine and throwing it blindly towards Izaya's general direction.

Nana saw the object hurtling at her, but it was moving so fast that she wouldn't have nearly enough reaction time to dodge. She was pretty sure she saw her life flashing before her eyes, when suddenly – Simon, of all people to randomly appear – came flying down and stood in the path of the machine, halting it's movement. Nana gaped as her heart beat wildly like a bird within a cage, and the dark skinned man set it aside.

Yells were thrown around some more by Shizuo, who was now charging at Simon; out of the corner of her eye, she saw the high schoolers make their escape from the scene. Still, through all of this, she couldn't move. She couldn't even see Shizuo past Simon's huge frame, but Nana just really wanted to see his face. Yeah, she'd just glance at his face, and then-

Shizuo let out another roar and Simon sidestepped the punch; that was when he saw her.

Shizuo couldn't help but stare at the face that popped up uninvited into his mind so often; he swallowed and his pulse sped up even more when he realized that Nana had been the figure in the white coat that had run to Izaya's aid when he had fallen.

"S-Shizuo," She breathed, eyes wide as they took in the blood that marked his face. Simon simply stood aside for the moment, since Shizuo had stopped his assault on him.

He couldn't find any words to say. Each and every thing that appeared in his head quickly went right out as he stared at her, speechless. She, however, didn't seem to have so much of a hard time.

Nana stepped forward, slowly and hesitantly; "Shizuo, I…" She bit her lip, staring up at him with her brows furrowed in what he thought was probably worry. "I know that you…" Timidly, her hand reached up and touched the side of his face, so lightly he wasn't sure if she did at all. "That you… that you don't like me, and I'm annoying, and a b-burden…"

Shizuo mentally cringed at how she rattled off the exact things he had said to her, and she retracted her hand, the blood on her fingers staining her pristine looking coat as her arms brushed against her side.

He watched in disgust with himself as he watched her eyes fill up with tears, and they slid down her face despite her attempt to blink them away. "But … be more careful, you big idiot!" She cried, face scrunching up.

Shizuo swallowed thickly again, unsure of what to say. By now, everyone had already cleared out; the thugs and the highschoolers because of any impending danger, and Simon had probably sensed he wasn't going to put up a fight now. How could he?

Nana covered her face with her hands, shoulders shaking. "Even if you think those things about me, I – I don't think that about you! So… t-take care of yourself…" She faltered near the end, her words muffled by the hands still covering her face.

He reached out a hesitant hand towards her; he didn't know what he was planning on doing, but he just wanted her to stop crying. If he could just get her to do that, maybe the ache would stop pounding in his chest. But before he could do anything - touch her shoulder, pull her into a hug; before he could move towards her any further, she was already running away.

The blond stared blankly as she ran until she was visible no more, then spotted a bag laying next to where she had been standing. He picked it up, and smiled somewhat bitterly at all the food that lay inside. It was definitely hers. Shizuo ran a hand through his bloody hair and tried to wipe some of the blood out of his eyes, and looked back once more before going home with the plastic bag in hand.

Once he was in his apartment, cleaned up and telling Tom he needed the rest of the day off (who thankfully hadn't asked why, just acquiesced), Shizuo found himself staring at the plastic bag. He puffed on his cigarette and continued to gaze at it, until he put it out, picked up the bag, and left.

* * *

Nana wearily stepped into Izaya's office, an apology already working its way out of her mouth; Izaya beat her to it, however, looking up at her from his computer.

"Ah, Nana-hime. How nice of you to find your way back!"

"Izaya, I… I'm sorry." How lame, she thought. She should've just followed Izaya; instead, she made a fool of herself in front of someone who didn't care, wouldn't care ever again – if he ever had in the first place.

"Ah, you're strange. Why would you want to stay there? Especially for that protozoan," Izaya sighed, "It makes me wonder. Even though he said such horrid things to you, Nana-hime~"

"I know," She said, looking down at the floor and tugging on her hair. "I just… I don't know why, either. I couldn't-" She paused, not knowing what exactly to say.

"It's alright, Nana-hime. I, as your friend, am here to support you through such momentary lapses of common sense." He assured her, spinning his chair around to face her.

"I…" Nana floundered for anything else to say, and ended up just settling with an, "Okay. Thank you, Izaya…"

"Anytime, Nana-hime! It's what friends are for." He smiled at her, and she played with her hands, only half-listening to him.

"Yeah…"

There had been so much blood… she could still see his red streaked face, his brown eyes staring at her as she had bumbled over her words and started crying like an idiot. She wondered with concern if he was alright; he was incredibly strong, but he was just as human as everyone else. Her heart tightened painfully the more she thought about him, so she forced herself to stop that train of thought, albeit with some difficulty.

And so she raised her head to Izaya, a smile lacking in her normal cheer plastered on her face. "Should I make some tea?"

"I'd love some." Izaya replied, the smile on his face twisting into a smirk as soon as she headed into the kitchen.

* * *

Shizuo stood outside Nana's apartment, bag clutched in his hand as he stared at the shoddy door. He wondered if he should just let things be, instead of trying to induce some kind of torture like this on himself. But before he could walk away, he raised his hand and knocked.

Just as he was about to walk away after a minute of no one coming to the door, it opened up. To his relief and dismay, it wasn't Nana. It was her father, who was staring up at Shizuo with glazed over eyes.

"Ah? You're Nana's boyfriend, right? ... The debt collector?" Her father swallowed, face starting to break out in a sweat. "The debt was paid, so... so…"

Shizuo narrowed his eyes at the man as his alcohol riddled breath hit his face, and was suddenly overcome with an extreme sense of annoyance. "That's not why I'm here."

"Well…" The man started, "Nana's at work right now-" A nervous expression appeared on his face, "I'm supposed to be at work too, but you can just not tell Nana that, right? Right?"

Shizuo felt his fist curl even more tightly against the bag, and before he even knew what he was doing, he had pushed the man into his apartment. "Listen to me," He growled out, taking some degree of enjoyment, for once, at the fearful expression in the man's face.

"You had better stop being such a worthless father. You're going to go to work every day, and you're going to stop drinking." He stated in a low, almost quiet voice. The man immediately opened his mouth to protest, but Shizuo cut him off. "You better start being someone Nana would be proud to call a father, got it?"

As Daisuke realized the blond man wasn't joking and sensed the dangerous undertone lying in his voice, he started to nod feebly. He may have been drunk off of his ass, but he could still see danger when it appeared; especially when he'd been so close to this kind of pummeling from Heiwajima Shizuo before.

"If you don't, I'll know. You hear me?" He grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt, lifting him up to eye level. "I'll know, and if I find out you haven't been being the best person you can be, I'll come back." He let that statement sink in a bit before pulling him in closer, braving the stench of alcohol that emanated from him. "And when I do, it'll be nothing like this. _Nothing._ And it won't be different from this in a good way, either."

He nodded more fervently now, choking out an, "O-okay! I promise, I promise!"

"Do you really understand?" Shizuo asked him dangerously from between grit teeth. "Don't think I'm messing around." He jerked the man even closer, "Because I'm not."

"I will, I promise!" Daisuke wailed, legs starting to kick beneath him. "I'll be the best f-father I can be!"

Somewhat satisfied, and feelng a bit confident that he'd put enough terror in the man, he set him down. "Give this to Nana," He said gruffly, shoving the plastic bag towards her father, who took it with some hesitance. "Don't you dare eat a goddamn thing in there, either." He received more nods in answer, her father's eyes wide and slightly sobered up from the situation.

Shizuo started for the still open door, but looked back at the man as he reached the doorway. "You had better remember what I said. Nana doesn't deserve someone like you." He reached into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes, grabbing one and lighting it up. "Clean up your act, or else."

With that, Shizuo left; Daisuke felt himself feeling rather faint, and set the bag as far away from himself as he could in case he came back and thought he was taking something from it.

"S-so scary…"

* * *

A/N: And there you have it! :O Umm… I hope you guys liked it.

Please review and let me know if everyone still IC, it's very important to me~ Reviews are pretty much the only thing that's going to make me keep writing this, so… if even _half_ the amount of people who have this on favorite/alerts ('cause it's pretty high of a number) reviewed, I have a feeling the next chapter would come shortly. /bribe

Thanks for reading, please review~ :


	8. eight

A/N: I am seriously so sorry and digusted with this chapter. :( It's so short, and I feel like my writing is slipping off the edge into a canyon filled with fail.

**Thanks so much** for all the reviews! You guys are the only reason why I write, so I hope you like this anyway!

I don't own Durarara.

* * *

**chapter eight ; to the secret frequency ...**

When Nana opened the door to her apartment, she was fully expecting it to be dark and empty; and if her father was actually home (for once), she would at least assume that there would be a mess to clean up, as usual. But to her surprise, instead of either of those things, the lights were on and her father was sitting on the couch watching the television. The apartment wasn't sparkling from cleanliness, but it was a whole lot better than it would be any other day.

She paused in the doorway, blinking. "... Tou-san?"

Her father turned around, "Ah, welcome home!" He then turned back to watching the news. Still dumbfounded, Nana pinched herself. Nope, it wasn't a dream.

The thought process in her head was basically like this: _Has an alien swapped bodies with my father?_ And so she sniffed the air, trying to smell the reek of booze; it was still there, but faint. It was not nearly as strong as it usually was - just barely there.

"... Did something happen?" That was all she could think of asking. "You're not going out tonight?" She asked hesitantly.

"Ah... n-no." He turned around again, "And ah... there's a bag for you over there."

Was that fear she sensed in her father's voice? Still a bit shocked, she finally moved inside from the doorway. Nana made her way to the bag her father pointed out and looked inside - it was the bag full of the things she had bought earlier; earlier, when she had seen Shizuo for the first time since she had been at Shinra and Celty's place. She had forgotten all about it, and she realized she probably dropped it when she ran into the middle of all the ruckus.

"How did you get this?" She asked, eyes still glued to the bag.

"Well... your boyfriend came by earlier. Gave it to me and told me not to touch it... among other things," He said, the last part muttered under his breath; she still heard it, though, and raised a brow.

"B-boyfriend?" Suspiciously, she turned her gaze to her father. "I don't have a boyfriend, tou-san." Maybe Izaya had brought it? Then again, she highly doubted he'd do something like that... maybe her father was losing it. That was a whole lot more plausible than the idea of her employer backtracking and grabbing the bag and bringing it to her house, at least.

"Y-you know... that big, scary-" He swallowed his words back, "-the debt collector."

Nana gaped at his words. "Debt collector? I..." It would make sense, seeing as she highly doubted it was Tom. He hadn't even been there when everything happened - but Shizuo? She didn't understand why he would do something like that; especially if he didn't like her. "Which one?" She asked quietly, wrapping a hand around the bag's handles.

"The blond one." He told her, and she swore she saw him shiver. "Heiwajima Shizuo..." She turned her attention back to the bag and bit her lip, questions swarming around in her head.

* * *

Settled into Izaya's office, at her desk, she resigned herself to a boring day of work. However, her mind was anywhere but there; she still couldn't get over the fact that Shizuo had done that. She shivered from the cold, even though she was inside - her coat had gotten smudges of Shizuo's blood on it, so it wasn't really suitable to wear ("See? That nasty Shizu-chan even got blood on the coat I bought you~" Izaya had said) ...

Izaya had business to handle, so she was left alone in the office - the phone had been dead all day, and so she allowed herself to become absorbed in her thoughts. _Why? _It just didn't make sense. In fact, to her, it made about as much sense as a fish wearing scuba diving gear.

Nana couldn't wrap her mind around it. Sure, it was only a convenience store bag; it wasn't anything monumental, but it wasn't like he _had _to do it. Why do something so trivial for someone you've cut off? No, she didn't get it at all. She moaned and laid her head on her arms, staring forlornly out of the window to the streets of Shinjuku.

Why, why, why? She was still asking herself that, but the more she thought about it, she started to get annoyed. Then frustrated, and then angry. _Really_, Nana grumbled mentally, _how dare he do that?_

She started stewing at her desk, lips pursed. And then there was the fact he had obviously said _something _to her father; something that made him stay home at night, something that made him stop drinking. Of course, who knew whether it would start up again, but... Things had been different from how they had been for a long time. Nana had actually come home to _dinner _last night - and while it wasn't the best meal she'd ever eaten, the fact her father cooked for her made it taste like it was.

It was nice - no, more than nice. It had been something she'd only dreamed of since years ago; but still... She didn't appreciate this on and off thing Shizuo had going on. Not in the least.

Maybe she was just feeling spiteful, or maybe she was just thinking about it so much that it had caused her to make an avalanche from a snowball. Maybe she was just being a girl - either way, she stared at the clock as it ticked by, willing it to go faster.

She had some _things _to say to _some_body...

How dare he!

* * *

[Hey, Shizuo...] Celty held out to him, and he gave a grunt.

They were sitting in South Ikebukuro Park after talking to an old artist about Celty's head; Shizuo couldn't help but feel bad for her, considering he knew she had her hopes up high. The PDA was put in front of his face once more.

[Have you been alright?]

"Why's everyone asking me that?" He muttered, ashing the cigarette that lay between his fingers. Before he could tell her the automatic _I'm fine_, she put the PDA up again with a new message.

[You just seem down, lately...]

"Down."

[Well, yes... you just seem a bit more irritable than usual.] He raised a brow at the text, and she took it away and typed something else into it hastily, [No offense, of course! I just-]

Shizuo moved his eyes away from the screen. "I'm fine."

Celty stared - or did whatever she did to be able to see - at him. Her fingers were not clacking away at her PDA, and they were both silent for a minute. [Shizuo?]

"Yeah?"

[You know that we're friends, right?]

"Of course I know that."

[You can talk to me, you know? Friends are supposed to help each other out, right?] She erased that after he read it, typing up something else. [You helped me out today with that artist, so... just know I'm here to help you, too.]

"I know," Shizuo mumbled. They sat on the bench in silence for another ten minutes, watching the sun set below the tall skyscrapers.

"Hey, Celty."

She cocked her head at him to let him know she was listening; he was staring up into the sky, face blank.

"Say Shinra got hurt or something because of you. Well, maybe not because of you, but because people out there didn't like you." He lit up another cigarette. "What would you do?"

Celty was silent, but before she could give him any form of an answer, he spoke again. "Would you remove yourself from that person's life? Because you thought, or hoped, that the person wouldn't get hurt again? ... Ah, Shinra, I mean."

The dullahan had a sneaking suspicion he wasn't talking about Shinra, but she answered him regardless. [People get hurt all the time, Shizuo. I would be upset if someone hurt Shinra because of me, but...]

His eyes scanned the text quickly before she showed him a new message. [... if anything, I would worry a lot about him. It would make me want to be there for him in case something else happened.]

"Yeah?" He asked, voice sounding just as distant as the look in his eyes. He pushed up the bridge of his sunglasses before reading what else Celty had to say.

[Shizuo... you should talk to her.]

"Her? I don't know who you're talking about," He said, a stream of smoke following the words of denial.

[Nana, I mean. She probably misses you.] Celty replied, somewhat exasperated. She hadn't seen Nana since she had left her's and Shinra's home, but the girl had clearly been upset over Shizuo.

"Tch. She's got the damn flea to keep her company."

Celty _almost _typed that she'd have the ex-bartender to keep her company too, but refrained, writing something else instead. [Well, think about it. I highly doubt Izaya has that many admirers, either.] She stood up, giving a short wave. [I should go home now, but I'll see you later, okay?]

"Alright. See you."

Shizuo watched as Celty rode off on her motorbike, a ghostly whinny following after her. Her words had struck a chord in him; he had been so busy thinking about what danger he could possibly bring to her that he'd completely overlooked Izaya's possible enemies. And knowing Izaya for being the type of person he was, he probably had just as many foes as Shizuo did.

_Too late for that now_, he thought. What was done was done; he'd managed just fine before he met her, and he would manage just as well without her. With that thought in mind, he continued to sit there and watch the sky slowly darken. But one thought lead to another, which lead to another - and he thought that maybe he should try to talk to her at some point.

He didn't know when that would be, but he couldn't block out the feeling that maybe, just maybe - he didn't _feel_ like having to manage without her.

* * *

Nana practically stalked out of Shinjuku and into Ikebukuro, mood sour. She was still feeling rather miffed about everything; though a lot of time had passed since she sat at her desk pondering the entity known as Heiwajima Shizuo, the feeling hadn't faded in the least.

She'd been set on finding him, though she hadn't realized until now that she had no idea of where to look for him. And that was when she heard the strange neighing and a black blur with a yellow helmet heading in her direction. Immediately, she began waving her hand to try and catch her attention. To her relief, however, the black blur slowed down until she came to a full stop next to Nana on the side of the street.

"Hey, Celty-san..." This was either a stroke of luck or the first step to making herself look like a fool.

[Hello, Nana. How have you been? And your injuries?]

And even though Nana was feeling quite moody, she still gave a smile to the woman. "Okay, I guess. And I feel a ton better now, so give my thanks to Shinra-san, please."

[Of course. Where are you headed?]

"Well... That's what I was hoping you could help me with, Celty-san..."

[Hm? You need directions somewhere?]

"Actually, I was hoping that you could tell me where Shizuo is." She tugged on her hair, agitated as she stared at the cement.

[I was just with him a minute ago. He's at South Ikebukuro Park - or should be, if he hasn't left already.]

"I see... thanks, Celty-san. I'll let you go now."

[No problem. Take care of yourself.] Celty gave her a wave; in the blink of an eye, she was gone, zooming down the road.

_South Ikebukuro Park. That's not too far from here. Now's the last chance you have to back out from making yourself look like a moron. _She thought to herself as she resumed her quick pace to the park; in a matter of minutes, she was already wandering around, eyes open for a head of blond hair.

She saw him on a bench, cigarette in hand as always. _Okay... _now _is the last chance to turn back. _Her body betrayed her mind, however, and she trudged her way over before she lost any of her resolve to give him a piece of her mind.

* * *

Shizuo took another drag of his cigarette as he heard loud stomping coming his way - he looked up only to see none other than the subject of his and Celty's conversation approaching him. She was wearing the dark, worn coat that he was used to seeing her in, though the rest of her clothes seemed in better condition.

Slightly stunned at the turn of events, he could only hold his dwindling cigarette to the side. "Nana."

"Shizuo." She frowned, stepping closer until she was right in front of him. He had to look up at her since he was sitting down, but she was so petite that he didn't have to crane his neck too far. "You..." He had no idea what to expect. Had she found out that he had been the one to bring the bag back to her place?

Was she going to try to thank him? Well, he had wanted to talk to her, but he hadn't even had enough time to even think of what he would say to her. As soon as his head was lifted up to look at her, a small finger was in his face; a light tickle emerged from his forehead when she flicked it harshly. Or, at least, _harshly _coming from Nana.

The look on her face made him feel unsettled; her eyebrows were knitted, stance guarded. He got deja vu from seeing her like this, as it reminded him of their first meeting and the time they had argued at Shinra's.

He opened his mouth - he didn't know what he was going to say, but... well, _s__orry_ seemed like a good way to start. Nana's words came out before his, though, and he bit his tongue.

"You have a lot of nerve, you know that?"

* * *

A/N: Like I said, please don't kill me for the utter shortness of this chapter. Me tired. D: ...

Uhm, hope you guys liked either way~ please review and keep my ass motivated. Thanks!


	9. nine

A/N: BLAH. That is how I feel about this chapter. :( I hope it doesn't seem as rushed as I feel and know it is... Yikes.

Either way, I hope you enjoy. And I suppose this would take place after episode 5, but before episode 6. Sorry, I've realized I'm kinda shitty with matching up with the episodes... but I'm trying~

(Also, off topic: Anyone else love how unexpectedly dark Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica is? And how evil the generic creature mascot is?... I do.)

I don't own Durarara.

* * *

**chapter nine ; can the radio waves of my heart reach you? ...**

"You have a lot of nerve, you know that?"

His face did not change emotion from the moment she approached to when she announced that and flicked his forehead; his unmoved expression only served to make her angrier, and she opened her mouth for another volley of assaults.

"I mean, really! After what you said to me, you decided to go and be nice and bring that bag back?" Her eyes narrowed. "And then you had some kind of talk with my father? Or you at least did something to him, because he hasn't gone out in days except to work! Yeah, I know about that! And... and... gah!"

The few people still in the park stayed at a reasonable distance away, watching the spectacle unfold. What kind of girl would go up to Heiwajima Shizuo and start screaming at him? At least, they _had_ been watching the rather one-sided argument - Nana had whipped her head around at the surrounding murmurs and shot them all a fierce looking glare.

"What are you people looking at! _Huh?_" She shouted, shaking a rather un-intimidating fist at the small crowd; and though she didn't actually look like she posed a threat, it wasn't as if they knew that. They only saw a girl that obviously wasn't afraid of having the blond toss her into a building, and so they figured she was probably just crazy. Not wanting to deal with anymore crazy people that seemed to litter the streets of Ikebukuro, they started to disperse.

And still, his face registered no emotion; he simply stared at her from behind those blue sunglasses of his. It spurred her on even more.

"So why? Why are you going and being nice? And behind my back, too!" She shrilled. If she wasn't so heated right now, she'd probably realize how silly it sounded to yell at someone for being nice _behind her back._ Then again, she wasn't exactly the most calm person right now. "It's just... it's not fair!" To top it off, she stomped her foot; _So much for not looking like an idiot_, she thought in the back of her mind.

"Nana." He had finally spoken, but she shook her head and held her hand out.

"Don't you... don't you go and 'Nana' me, you - you...! If you're going to be nice, be nice! If you're going to be a bastard, be a bastard!" She frowned, "You don't get it! That day..." She paused for a small moment, trying to think of how best to word her next statement; no matter what she thought of in that second, only her honest feelings came out. "It hurt! It hurt ... Really, really bad! You said those things to me, and then you just cut me off..."

Her lips pursed together, and her eyes stopped staring at him furiously. Now she stared at the ground - or rather Shizuo's legs, since she had invaded his personal space during her rant. Her cinched lips started wavering; she sniffed, her vision becoming blurry with tears. "You're so..."

Shizuo, on the other hand, didn't quite know what to say. He was never good with words, anyway. He could only search his mind for something right - if there was anything right - to say while looking at her downcast head, until he felt small drops of wetness hit his legs. His hand almost itched for another cigarette when he realized it was her tears, but instead, he found himself reaching out to take a hold of her arm.

"Nana." Shizuo's hand circled around her thin wrist while the other took off the sunglasses perched on his nose, tucking them inside his vest.

"I hate you. I really hate you, Shizuo..." She murmured, her free hand coming up to rub furiously at her eyes. "I..."

Shizuo stood up, almost knocking her backwards because of her closeness. He examined her face when she looked up at him with some surprise - eyes shining wetly, nose and cheeks pink - and frowned.

What had he been thinking?

Wanting to talk to her, wanting to keep her as a friend; staring at her tear stained face, he suddenly deemed all those things as foolish.

_"I hate you."_

She was better off, he assured himself, not knowing him. He had been the one who slipped up with that stupid bag stunt - if he hadn't, she wouldn't be crying right now. She would've continued on with her life; a life where he did not fit into the picture, where she would adapt to that fact. But he _did _slip up, and she _was _crying. It bit at him even more so since he knew it was because of him.

He let go of her arm, diverting his eyes away from her flushed face. "You hate me?" It came out as more of a statement than a question, but it would only make sense for her to. He found he couldn't really blame her.

And Nana really wanted to tell him that, honestly, she didn't. She wanted to tell him that she was just upset. But nothing came out except for a tiny, weak-sounding, "I..."

"Good, then." Shizuo pushed up his sunglasses further up on the bridge of his nose before turning on his heel.

_"I really hate you, Shizuo..."_

"Keep hating me."

_It's better that way._

* * *

Izaya was bored.

Or at least, _getting _bored. Not with the grand scheme he was planning and setting into motion for the city itself, but rather, his secretary.

The whole thing was starting to become a bit lackluster to him. Besides the way she had appeared down after coming back to work the day that protozoan idiot had attacked him, she was complacent. He had already gained her trust, or at least most of it. Izaya playing the part of consoling friend had made it all too easy for him, and now there was no challenge left.

It was too simple; _she_ was too simple. There were still games to be played with her, but each outcome didn't seem to be enough to sate him.

But he was Orihara Izaya - he'd think of something to make things fun again. And if he couldn't, he always had interesting methods of disposal; and the after effect it would have on certain barbarians would provide the entertainment he was lacking. He mulled over thoughts and plans in his head, coming to a decision.

The disposal idea sounded good. After all, as much as he hated the blond, playing around with him was always the best. He spun around in his chair, grabbing the phone that lay on his desk during one twirl. Flipping it open, he went through his contacts, finding the name he was looking for. He hit send.

She was getting very boring, indeed. But there was still a remedy for that; a remedy to end this boring game he'd started, and to play around with Shizu-chan at the same time. Two birds with one stone, so to speak.

Because Tsukamoto Nana was only one girl in the whole city; no friends, no concerned co-workers - he certainly didn't count in that respect, at least - and a drunk for a father that didn't know up from down.

She wouldn't be missed. And if Ikebukuro's strongest man had something to say about it - well, by then, it would be too late anyway.

The ringing stopped as the other side picked up.

"Ah, yes~ I've got another one for you..."

* * *

"I'm home," Nana called out wearily as she entered her apartment, sluggishly kicking her shoes off. Her father responded back to her from the kitchen, and she couldn't help but still feel taken aback. It had been a week or two since her father had undergone his change; something that wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for-

"Hungry, Nana?"

Startled, she quickly replied, "Y-yeah... I guess that I should go get something for us?"

"Not today! Dinner should be done soon."

_Are you really changed? _she wanted to ask him, but at the same time, she didn't want to somehow jinx this. "Okay."

They ate in silence, mostly, except for her father trying to make conversation with her. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to him; rather, she was still down about what had transpired in the park a few days ago.

_"Keep hating me."_

"Eh? Something wrong with the food? I know I haven't cooked in a while, but..."

"No, it's fine," She assured him hurriedly. "I'm just tired. That's all."

"I see." Her father stared at her for a good minute or so before looking down at his plate. "Nana."

"Hmm?" She murmured, resting her chin on her fist.

"I've been... a terrible father, haven't I?"

"H-huh?" She hadn't been expecting that. Even though he'd done a complete change, he still hadn't brought up the topic of these past years - until now.

"You can tell me I was. I know it's true." He hung his head. "Not_... _drinking has opened my eyes."

Nana sputtered at his expression; he seemed to be getting a little teary, his face the picture of apology. "You had to do so many things for me... and that debt you somehow cleared up," He spoke, and Nana refrained from telling him she hadn't been the one who paid it. "Such a good daughter, Nana-chan!" He wailed, and all seriousness was sucked out by his whimpers.

Daisuke reached across the table and grasped her hand. "I promise, Nana-chan! I'll be a father you can be proud of!"

"Tou-san..." She squeezed his hand.

"That's what that boyfriend of yours threate- told me to do. I'm... I'm glad he did..." Nana sighed as her father started to weep out pleas for forgiveness.

She got up from the table and walked around to his side, leaning down and hugging him. "I forgive you, okay?"

"Nana-chan..."

"But if you ever go back to that, then you're gonna regret it! I don't need any muscle to promise you that!" She suddenly yelled in his ear, and he stiffened, giving her a frightened look.

"Y-yes...!"

An hour or two after dinner, Nana was laying on her bed reading a magazine when her cell began to ring. Glancing at it, she already had an idea of who it was beforehand. Orihara Izaya, said the caller ID. Blinking, she picked it up.

"Hello?"

_"Nana-hime!"_ His voice sounded frantic, almost. It was so unlike him that she immediately sat up a little straighter in bed.

"Izaya? What's wrong?"

_"Someone's broken into my office! Ah, so terrible!..."_

"I'll be there as soon as I can!" Nana cried out, already getting off the bed.

All the times he had been there for her; if she could pay those times back, even if was a little bit - she would gladly do it.

_"Thanks... you're a good friend, Nana-hime!"_

Even though he couldn't see it, she smiled. "See you soon."

She yelled out to her father she was heading out, grabbed her coat and pulled on her shoes - out the door she went, jogging to the station. Halfway through the run, she couldn't keep running; she had to stop and catch her breath. She was thinking of which way she could go to get to the station the fastest way possible, and after catching her breath she began to walk speedily through the crowds.

_I think this is a short cut... _She peered into a darkened side street, devoid of any passerby. _Hopefully this will save some time._

* * *

It was about ten minutes into his walk home that he spotted a familiar head of taupe hair running amongst the crowds. She was on the opposite side of the street, and he stopped as he watched her.

_"I hate you."_

He told himself to just keep walking. Just go home. They were supposed to forget about each other, after all. But his feet would not move; what if she was in trouble? Was that why she was running?

Nana had stopped running to catch her breath, hands on her knees as she panted. She started up once more, though it was more of a fast walk now. As inconspicuously as possible, he walked across the side of the street she was on.

Berating himself with every step he took, he trailed a good distance away from her. He stopped at the same time she did, as she seemed to be looking down a side street. Should he really be doing this? Now he was acting like some damn stalker - which he wasn't, he vehemently told himself.

_"I really hate you, Shizuo..."_

And even though those words kept looping around in his head, it wasn't enough to make him turn the other way. He was just concerned, was all. Shizuo repeated this over and over as he slowly followed where she had dipped off to, eyes narrowing slightly when he saw a black van turn into the same place a few moments later. Was she truly on the run? He wasn't sure, but he sped up his pace as he too turned the corner a minute later.

Shizuo had turned in just in time to see some man with glasses holding up a rag to Nana's lower face - ust in time to see her limbs go limp and her head tilt to the side as the man hastily tossed her into the open side door of the van.

Before he could even fully comprehend what he had just seen and find some way to stop them, the van's engine had already rumbled to life, speeding away and out of sight.

* * *

A/N: So I hope you liked~ Please gimme some reviews, because I super, super love them. Also, please reassure me that I haven't turned Shizuo into a huge cheeseball; and if I have, please tell me that, too. Kinda short (again... surprise, surprise) but I thought that would be a good place to leave it off. :x

Sigh~ Tell me what you thought, please!

Oh, and slight self promotion / boredom speaking right about now:

Self promotion part: Go read AM if you haven't already~

Boredom part: Whoever gets 135th review on there, I will happily write you a gift fic. Doesn't have to be confined to Durarara, but it would probably help if I've seen it or know what you speak of. :D Please do so I can write something new.

Thanks a bunch. :'D


	10. ten

A/N: Okay, so, this one is longer, so... yeah~ Thanks so much for the reviews, I freakin' love you guys! And after looking at my stats today, I realized I'm on 60 people's favorites and 58 alerts... ahmahgad :D!

**puppyluv**: Thanks! And I love cliffhangers, as torturous as they may be... the more torturous the better, I say~

**DreamWalker**: I'm glad you love this story so much! Thanks for always reviewing! Also, you win the free gift-fic from me, so let's work something out!

**Kim**: Yes, yes he is. But that's why we love/hate him so much!

**Le Jour**: Yeah, she can't get a break most of the time... working for a troll like Izaya will do that to you. :'D

**Anna**: Thanks~ :3 And yeah, trying my best to follow the story line... which I feel kinda iffy about, but I'm trying. I try not to rehash things, though... one, because I'm pretty sure everyone knows what's going on anyway, and two, because I kinda suck at it. :D; I'd say last chapter and this chapter are after episode 5, but before episode 6. AKA, before Dotachin and crew go rescue Kaztano. Hope that made sense...!

**KizunaCho**: Go whoop some ass... maybe. :D

**knyghtstar**: Thanks for the compliments and reassuring me I haven't turned Shizuo into an utter cheeseball! And MSMM is amazing~ which is why it has the "honor" of being the only other thing than Durarara I've written for, even if it's more of a drabble than anything... And you didn't have to wait too patiently, I guess!

**Sepsis**: Actually, I had started writing the chapter out in a completely different direction... but I think he's so closed off it would've been bad, so I fixed it. You'll get his explanation at some point, though, I promise! And Izaya, I guess both... haha~

**PhoenixRage**: Yeah, she was being a brat, but she's just an upset female... and they are forces to be reckoned with! And yeah, he totally is a bastard~ I just see him getting bored quickly since she's become too predictable. He seems like the type of person to get bored of things incredibly quick (see: stomping on cell phones), so I guess he has no more need for her. And he might as well get some kind of gain from it~

**FranHyuuga**: She was just being emotional, haha. :D And yes, she is quite a bit of an idiot~

**Nina**: Thanks! And hopefully, this one's longer for you!

You guys make my day~ So please enjoy.

Don't own.

* * *

**chapter ten ; only god knows that i miss you ...**

Celty had just finished delivering a rather sharp jab to the underground doctor's stomach when her phone went off. As Shinra whimpered and crouched over, she slid the PDA out from her sleeve to look at the screen. It was a message from Shizuo.

"I-I hope that's not your secret boyfriend, Celty... that's my- ow!"

Ignoring his continuous cries, she opened up the message.

_Need your help. _

That was all it said.

Shinra adjusted his glasses, peering over her shoulder. "Is Shizuo in trouble? Well, not that that's anything new, but he can usually handle those sort of things..."

[Either way, I'm sure he wouldn't ask for help if he didn't need it.] Celty replied, then brought the PDA back and typed a message back to Shizuo. Sliding it back up her sleeve, she grabbed the bright yellow helmet from the table and started walking out the door.

"Be careful, my honey!" Shinra called out, hands cupped around his mouth as if he were shouting from a mountain top. "And no falling in love with anyone but me, okay!"

_Such a moron sometimes..._

Shaking her non-existent head, she set off. Getting to Shizuo's location only took her a few minutes, considering the way she zoomed down the streets. He was standing off to the side of an empty street, cigarette in hand. She noticed that there were already multiple cigarette butts littering the area around his feet.

"Yo." Shizuo greeted her, lifting the cigarette up for another drag.

[Are you alright?]

"I'm fine. But..." He looked straight at her, seeing the graveness in his own eyes reflected in her inky visor. "Someone took her. Nana."

[Nana? What do you mean? She got kidnapped?]

"If that's what you call knocking her out and shoving her into a van, then yeah."

[That's terrible... did you see what the van looked like, or the license plate number? The person who did it?]

"Couldn't see the place number since they drove off so damn fast. Black van, some guy with glasses and suit." He took the last drag of his cigarette before throwing it down and stomping it out, staring at the smoldering remnants. "Damn it."

[Well, I think I can help. I've encountered some people like that before...] He read the text, but remained quiet. [Shizuo, don't worry. How long has it been?]

"Twenty minutes or so," He groused, then pushed off against the wall he was leaning on to face her.

[Alright. I'm sure she'll be okay, Shizuo. I'll go now. It shouldn't be too hard to catch up with them.]

"I'm coming with you."

[... Eh?] Celty wasn't too surprised that he'd want to - but if he came with her, that would leave no room for Nana. [What about Nana? She won't be able to fit.]

"Tch. I'll find my own way home." He paused. "...I just can't wait around."

Celty formed a helmet with her shadows, placing it in his hands. [Then let's go.]

She hoped they wouldn't be too late - though it was at least helpful that she had done a rescue job for a teenage girl who had been abducted by the same type of people. At least, it sounded like it was. Now the only other thing left to hope for was that Shizuo didn't go on a murderous rampage. He seemed to be calm so far, however, which was a good sign.

"Kill, kill, kill..." Shizuo muttered under his breath as they settled onto her motorbike.

Or not.

* * *

"How much longer until we get there?"

"Calm down. Not too much. Besides, she'll be out for a little longer." The driver looked in his rearview at the girl slumped against the side of the van interior. "I highly doubt she could do much harm, anyways."

"Yeah, but what if the Black Rider comes back?" One of the accomplices shivered. "I don't wanna go through that again..."

"I might have a heart attack if that happens," A third man chimed in.

"Ah, shut up," The man with glasses sighed, "You guys wanna get paid or not?"

"Yeah..." They both grumbled reluctantly. They happened to drive over a rather large bump, jolting all the passengers - including Nana.

Ever so slowly, she began to regain consciousness. Her body felt tired, and she lay there for a minute, overwhelmed by fatigue. Each time the vehicle went over a bump and jostled her, she felt a wave of nausea.

_Where... am I?_

She remembered being on her way to Izaya's, and then... and then what happened? Then it hit her - the man with glasses, the rag; opening her eyes up just a slit so as not to let her captors know she was awake, she glanced around at her surroundings.

_I'm in a car... a van? _

"Who picks these people out, anyway? That's one creepy hobby." Nana heard one of them say. _Kidnapping's just as creepy, if not more, you weirdos!_

"Eh, they've got their sources. I'm pretty sure one of them is that informant from Shinjuku, though. At least, I wouldn't be surprised."

_Informant from Shinjuku...? _She stiffened.

"Huh? That Orihara guy?"

"Well, it makes sense. If he's an informant, then finding people that fit the requirements shouldn't be too difficult."

_They're lying, right?_

"That's true... I've heard he's a scary guy, too."

_Am I going to die? I don't want to... not when everything is finally good at home. And not when Shizuo thinks I hate him..._

"Though I'd rather go up against him than that Heiwajima any day-"

"Oh, shit!" One of the men next to her yelled out, fear apparent in his tone.

"What? What's wrong?" The driver shouted, his companion's nervousness having an effect on him.

"T-the Black Rider... I knew that was going to happen! I told you! Now we're gonna-!"

"Be quiet, damn it! We just have to lose her..."

"That didn't work last time!"

"Well, that was last time!"

_Black Rider?_

She felt the van speed up even more, going over some sort of speed bump - she got thrown up into the air from the force of it, and let out a yelp despite herself.

"Shit, she's awake!"

_There goes my cover..._

"Well, what are you waiting for? Knock her out again, you idiots!"

Two men, one on the obese side and a scrawny looking one advanced upon her - which didn't take long, considering they were in the back of a van.

The scrawny one started fumbling around with a bottle and a rag, and the heavier one sat down on her torso. She wheezed out, still feeling nauseous; the weight on top of her made her feel like she was going to be crushed. She began waving her arms around wildly, trying to land some sort of hit on the man on top of her; to her satisfaction, she landed a few smacks, but they didn't seem to do much due to her weakened state.

"Hurry up!"

"I'm trying!"

* * *

"Celty!" Shizuo shouted against the rushing wind, "When we get closer to them, drop me off. Stop 'em from the front, and I'll stop them from the back."

Celty nodded, tightening her grip on the handles as she sped up.

_Damn girl keeps getting into trouble. _He narrowed his eyes at the swerving vehicle in front of them. Well, technically, she didn't make a habit of it - but she had already gotten the crap beaten out of her once before, and he wasn't about to let it happen again. Not if he could help it, at least.

Besides, in Shizuo's book, working for and hanging around the damn flea was only asking for it.

_When this is all over, I'm going to tell her what an idiot she is. And even if she hates me, too bad. Stupid girls like her obviously need someone to keep an eye on them. _And in his mind, amidst the worry and anger, there was only one person who would be able to do that.

_Yeah. Even if she hates me... Ah, who the hell cares. If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself._

* * *

She couldn't end up like this. She _wouldn't _end up like this. Her vision became blurry from tears of desperation, and her arm went out to her side, trying to reach for anything to aid her - when she felt something cool and thin. Not wanting to waste anymore time trying to find something more suitable, she tightened her hand around the metal, looking up at the man on top of her.

He was seemingly distracted, looking out of the back window. "The Black Rider's gaining on us-"

Mustering up all the strength she could in her feeble state, she let out a cry and wrenched her arm forth with as much force as she could. There was a solid thwack as the tire iron landed right on his temple.

"_Ow_!" He held up a hand to his temple, which was starting to bleed. "Crazy bitc- ow!" Again, she brought up the tire iron, trying to strike him in the same spot to the best of her ability.

Even though he was one of the people who had kidnapped her, she still didn't want to have to knock someone out. She especially didn't want to have to repeatedly whack someone in such a tender place as his head. The nausea grew more when she felt some spatters of blood hit her cheek.

"Stop her, damn it!" The driver cried, swerving.

But if she wanted to get out of this, then... she felt tears and nervous drops of sweat run down the side of her face and into her hair as she delivered the blow that finally brought him down.

"What the hell!" The scrawny one cried, as the large one slumped on top of her, knocked out. She let out another whoosh of air from the whole weight of his body on her chest, and she tried to wiggle out from underneath him.

The scrawny one leaned over his friend's knocked out body, rag in hand as it neared her face. _Not when I was so close...!_

Suddenly, the van halted to an immediate stop. The one with the rag teetered from his position on his knees, and he wavered before falling backwards in the direction of the front of the vehicle, the cloth flying in the air from his hands that were loosened in surprise. Fate, or maybe a miracle - Nana didn't exactly know and couldn't think about it right now, anyway - happened to have the rag land smack dab on his face.

"Damn it! He's trying to block us off! What the hell?"

Nana herself could not see any of this, still underneath the passed out man; her nose wrinkled in disgust and she turned her head to the side as she felt warm blood leaking from the man's temple onto her.

"Don't you hear me? Hey-!" The man turned around, the van already in reverse. "What the-!" He surveyed the two knocked out men and cursed, stomping on the gas pedal. In the middle of backing up, the vehicle went off to the side to gain enough room to turn around.

Suddenly, one of the dim glows from a street light went out - Nana could at least notice that from her squashed position - and then the van skidded to a stop as the street light itself went through the passenger window and out through the windshield. Glass tinkled down from the broken windows, and she heard the driver whimper before it was silent.

_W-what happened? Am I ... saved?_

She got her answer when when the back of the van opened up, and she stared up in surprise.

"S-Shizuo?" She wheezed out, still beneath the passed out man. She had never been happier to see the familiar blond hair and bartender suit; even the scowl on his face was like the light at the end of the tunnel.

Her hand finally loosened its grip on the tire iron, and Shizuo frowned as he shoved the obese man off of her as if he was pushing aside a pebble. More tears welled up in her eyes, and she found herself smiling weakly in relief. "Shizuo..."

"Who else?" Shizuo grumbled as another figure appeared by his side.

"Celty-san, too..." _Was that the _Black Rider _they were talking about? I know it's not Shizuo, so..._

Nana lifted herself up on her elbows before Shizuo took hold of her, moving her so she was sitting upright on the now open ledge of the back of the vehicle. She surveyed her surroundings, thankful that the street was empty. It surely would have attracted a lot of commotion if it wasn't.

[Are you okay? Did you... do this?] Celty asked her at the same that Shizuo spoke.

"That blood had better not be yours."

Blinking and raising a hand to her still dizzy head, she tried to wipe off the blood on her cheek with the back of her hand. "I-it's not... it's his," She pointed to the knocked out man that Shizuo had moved off of her. "And yeah, I guess I did do that... I didn't want to, but I didn't know what else to do."

Shizuo nodded, both relieved and annoyed - relieved that she was okay, yet pissed he wasn't able to give her captors a piece of his mind.

[Well, at least you're okay. It's a good thing we were able to catch up to him.]

"Thanks, you two... I'm really, really grateful..." She bowed her head, embarrassed of the new tears she could feel coming.

[I'm going to check on them. Can you help her to my bike?] Celty typed out to Shizuo, who nodded before she went around to the front to see the damage.

"Come on." Shizuo held out an arm for her to grab, frowning when she didn't take it.

"Hey, Shizuo..."

He sighed, waving his arm around a bit more in front of her as if to tell her to hurry up and take it. "What?" Slowly, she reached out and took it, and they began walking to Celty's pitch black motorbike.

"Back there, I was really scared." She whispered, and he dropped his arm as they reached the bike. "I was really scared I would die. I didn't want to die..."

"Who does?" He grunted before before figuring she had more to say, and dug in his pocket for a lighter and his pack of cigarettes before lighting one up.

"I know no one does, but I didn't want to die, especially when everything at home was getting better. And maybe even more than that... no, definitely more than that, I..."

She sniffed before looking at him, smiling tiredly again. "I definitely would have regretted not telling you that I don't hate you. I don't hate you at all, Shizuo, so...!"

Nana lunged forward, wrapping her heavy arms around his waist and ignoring the dizziness that came with her sudden movement. "I'm sorry! I don't hate you! I definitely don't! I..." She gulped. "I missed you, so don't be mad..."

"Stupid..." Shizuo muttered, looking somewhere over her head with a frown.

"Eh?" She jerked, staring up at him in surprise. "S-stupid! I'm not-" Nana made to let go of him in her indignation, when Shizuo stuck the cigarette between his lips, grudgingly and awkwardly returning her hug.

"... I'm not mad."

"Good ... I'm glad." She calmed down and whispered, smiling to herself in relief.

Footsteps approached, and Nana flushed before letting go of him. Shizuo simply returned to puffing on his cigarette as Celty appeared from around the side of the vehicle.

[Well, you did a number on that one man, Nana.] Celty said, and the girl sheepishly tugged the ends of her hair.

"Oops..."

[The driver must have knocked himself out on the steering wheel, and the other managed to drug himself...]

"Idiots." Shizuo frowned.

[Are you sure you feel okay, Nana? They did use chloroform on you, after all.]

"I feel nauseous, but other than that..."

[Why don't you come with me? I'll have Shinra make sure everything's alright, if that's okay with you.]

"S-sure, if that's not a problem..."

[Of course not.] Celty formed another helmet from her shadows, and Nana gawked at the act before looking at Celty with wide eyes. [Here you go.]

A bit cautiously, she reached out to take the helmet. _How did she...? _But Celty had just been one half of the duo that had just rescused her, and from what Nana knew of her, she wouldn't hurt her - so she tugged it on, still blinking in wonder.

[I'm guessing you'll want to come, right?] She directed at Shizuo, who nodded.

"I'll catch a cab. I'll see you soon." He looked down at Nana once more before taking another drag of his cigarette and walking down the street.

[Ready?] Celty flashed her PDA at Nana, who nodded and held onto the older woman's waist.

Celty set off into motion, and Nana took one last glance at the blond before she squealed and held on for dear life as they zoomed through the streets.

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys liked it~ I hope the van scenes were okay, too, since I don't have much faith in writing things like that... And so Nana has overheard them talking about Izaya!... which shall be discussed next chapter. Anywho, please review and lemme know what you thought!

Prosciutto sushi to whoever does~ :3

Thank you for reading!


End file.
